archerfish

A1R1C3H4E1R1F4I1S1H4

noun

Any member of the species in the family Toxotidae (principally genus Toxotes) of fish who prey on small animals near to the surface of a water by shooting them with water from their mouths.

Similar
Toxotes jaculatrix
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Meanings

nounarcherfish (plural archerfishes or archerfish)

plural archerfishes

  1. Any member of the species in the family Toxotidae (principally genus Toxotes) of fish who prey on small animals near to the surface of a water by shooting them with water from their mouths.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounany of several small freshwater fishes that catch insects by squirting water at them and knocking them into the water; found in Indonesia and Australia

Similar
Toxotes jaculatrix
Broader
percoid fishpercoidpercoidean

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From archer + fish.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Dutch schuttersvis
  • schuttersvisfish in the family Toxotidae
French poisson archer
  • poisson archerfish in the family Toxotidae
German Schützenfisch
  • Schützenfischfish in the family Toxotidae
Indonesian ikan sumpit
  • ikan sumpitfish in the family Toxotidae
Japanese 鉄砲魚
  • 鉄砲魚 (teppōuo)fish in the family Toxotidae
Malay ikan sumpit
  • ikan sumpitfish in the family Toxotidae
Polish strzelczyk
  • strzelczykfish in the family Toxotidae
Portuguese peixe-arqueiro
  • peixe-arqueirofish in the family Toxotidae
Russian рыба-брызгу́н
  • рыба-брызгу́н (ryba-bryzgún)fish in the family Toxotidae
Vietnamese cá mang rổ
  • cá mang rổfish in the family Toxotidae
Cite this entry
APA

archerfish. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/archerfish

MLA

“archerfish.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/archerfish. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “archerfish,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/archerfish.

Source: archerfish on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.