Meanings
plural thresher sharks
- Any of the species of sharks in the genus Alopias, three of which are extant.
When I was 12 years old, my father got me a boat and I went fishing off of Cape Cod. I hooked a scup and as I was reeling it in, I hooked a 4.5 foot baby thresher shark who proceeded to eat my boat.
1975, Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb, Jaws, spoken by Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss)1 more example
I went diving […] and saw manta rays and thresher sharks, the sharks are like sickles, like polished steel, they look almost man-made except for their worried little faces, and they move like – like they’re not moving, the water is undisturbed by them.
2023, Samantha Harvey, Orbital, Jonathan Cape, page 57
Synonyms & antonyms
nounlarge pelagic shark of warm seas with a whiplike tail used to round up small fish on which to feed
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Bulgarian акула-лисица
- акула-лисица (akula-lisica)any of three species of sharks
Dutch voshaai
- voshaaiany of three species of sharks
Finnish kettuhai
- kettuhaiany of three species of sharks
French requin renard
- requin renardany of three species of sharks
German Fuchshai, Drescherhai
- Fuchshaiany of three species of sharks
- Drescherhaiany of three species of sharks
Icelandic skottháfur
- skottháfurany of three species of sharks
Irish sionnach mara
- sionnach maraany of three species of sharks
Italian squalo volpe
- squalo volpeany of three species of sharks
Japanese 尾長鮫
- 尾長鮫 (onagazame)any of three species of sharks
Korean 환도상어
- 환도상어 (hwandosang'eo)any of three species of sharks
Māori mangō-ripi
- mangō-ripiany of three species of sharks
Polish kosogon
- kosogonany of three species of sharks
Portuguese tubarão-raposa, zorro
- tubarão-raposaany of three species of sharks
- zorroany of three species of sharks
- cação-raposaany of three species of sharks
Russian ли́сья аку́ла, аку́ла-лиси́ца
- ли́сья аку́ла (lísʹja akúla)any of three species of sharks
- аку́ла-лиси́ца (akúla-lisíca)any of three species of sharks
Spanish azotador
- azotadorany of three species of sharks
Swedish rävhaj
- rävhajany of three species of sharks
Cite this entry
thresher shark. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thresher%20shark
“thresher shark.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thresher%20shark. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “thresher shark,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thresher%20shark.
Source: thresher shark on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.