noun
starfish
STAH-fihsh
noun
1
A sea creature, not actually a fish, with a body typically shaped like a five-pointed star.
"They found a bright orange starfish clinging to the rocks at low tide."
How to Use Starfish
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA star-shaped sea animal, often orange or red, that lives on rocks and the seafloor.
Common mistake
Despite the name, a starfish is not a fish — marine biologists often prefer the term "sea star" for this reason.
Common pairings
starfish arm
washed-up starfish
sea star
Word Forms
starfished past tense, starfishes plural, starfish plural, starfishes singular
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They found a bright orange _____ clinging to the rocks at low tide.
Etymology
A compound of "star" + "fish," describing its shape, even though it is not a true fish but an echinoderm related to sea urchins.