sawfish

noun

saw·​fish ˈsȯ-ˌfish How to pronounce sawfish (audio)
: any of a family (Pristidae) of large elongate rays that resemble sharks but have a long flattened snout with a row of serrate structures along each edge and that live in tropical and subtropical shallow seas and in or near the mouths of rivers

Examples of sawfish in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Researchers found a population of small tooth sawfish in Florida that’s just barely hanging on, Feldheim said. Evan Bush, NBC News, 29 Feb. 2024 However, sharks and other elasmobranchs—a group of cartilaginous fish including rays, skates and sawfish—are very sensitive to electric fields. Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Dec. 2023 Coupled with other recent developments, this find has raised scientists’ hopes for sawfish recovery. Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 July 2023 The tag will record the sawfish’s movements for the next decade and will be used a part of wide-ranging partnership to monitor sawfish populations. Warren Kulo | Wkulo@al.com, al, 11 July 2023 Elasmobranch fish, which includes sharks, rays, sawfish and skates have five to seven gill openings on each side. Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2023 Chasing Giants conveys the same premise in chapters instead of episodes: amid accounts of wrangling piranhas in Brazil and sawfish in Australia, Hogan and his co-author, journalist Stefan Lovgren, describe the environmental pressures endangering these targets. Amy Brady, Scientific American, 14 Mar. 2023 Smalltooth sawfish can grow to about 16 feet long. Ed Killer, USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2022 The Germans called their radioteleprinter equipment Sägefisch, or sawfish, reportedly because of the radio signals' sawtooth wave. IEEE Spectrum, 31 Dec. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sawfish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1635, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sawfish was in 1635

Dictionary Entries Near sawfish

Cite this Entry

“Sawfish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sawfish. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sawfish

noun
saw·​fish ˈsȯ-ˌfish How to pronounce sawfish (audio)
: any of several mostly tropical rays that resemble sharks but have a long flat snout with sharp toothlike structures along both edges

More from Merriam-Webster on sawfish

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