piranha

plural piranhas · alternative piraña · alternative pirana · alternative obsolete piraya

1. biologyAny of certain freshwater fish of the subfamily Serrasalminae, native to South America; they are characterized by razor-sharp teeth and a reputation of being ferocious predators (despite most species being omnivorous).

   At a length of 36cm (14in), the red-bellied piranha was a giant of its kind – more than eight inches longer than an average specimen.

   2009 August 28, Alexandra Topping, “Giant piranha found in Devon river”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 27 Aug 2025

   1 more example

   In The Simpsons, Millhouse is more worried about piranhas than that his mother will stop loving him. Bart is reduced to a skeleton by piranhas from a hosepipe.

   2024 January 23, Helen Sullivan, “A piranha: it is boiling the water you’re swimming in and taking bites out of you”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 13 Mar 2024

2. derogatoryfigurativelySomeone, especially a critic, who appears to be part of a swarm and attacks someone when they are vulnerable, as if in a feeding frenzy.

   With the piranhas of Fleet Street working themselves into a feeding frenzy over Commander Brian Paddick, a vicious vocabulary you might have naively imagined abandoned in these more tolerant times has been dusted off and brought back into use.

   2002 March 25, Gareth McLean, “It's a male thing”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 13 Jun 2014