catfish
To fish for catfishTo fish for catfish.
Recorded: Commander Keane, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Translations
2 languagesMeaning
2 senses(intransitive)To fish for catfish.
I only use this rod for catfishing.
(Internet, slang, transitive)To create and operate a fake online profile to deceive (someone).
- To deceive someone by professing romantic feelings but actually using a false identity
Origin
From cat + fish. Likely so named for its prominent barbels like a cat's whiskers. CompareFrom cat + fish. Likely so named for its prominent barbels like a cat's whiskers. Compare West Frisian katfisk (“catfish”), Dutch katvis (“catfish”). Compare also German Seekatze (“catfish”, literally “sea-cat”).
From the 2010 documentary Catfish, supposedly inspired by the practice of fishermen keeping cod active by storing them with catfish (see sense 1) which nip at their tails.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
catfishes, catfishing, catfished, catfishedTenses
catfish · catfished · will catfish · have catfishedWord family
8 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.