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Definition of jawfish
jawfish
/ˈdʒɔːˌfɪʃ/
jaw · fish
Plural:jawfishes
jawfish Lexical Profile
CEFR
C1
Grade
9
Tier
3
Usage
Rare
jawfish Game Scores & Validity
Scrabble US
Scrabble UK
WWF
Wordle Guess
• noun
1
Any of various small, marine fishes of the family Opistognathidae, typically found in warm coastal waters and characterized by their large mouths, which they use for burrowing and mouthbrooding eggs.
Example
"The male yellowhead jawfish protects his offspring by incubating the clutch of eggs entirely inside his mouth."
• Rhymes for jawfish
Word Origin & Etymology
A compound of 'jaw' and 'fish', named for the unusually large mouths characteristic of these fishes, which they use to excavate burrows and incubate their eggs.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.
180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer
Cite this Entry
Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Jawfish. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Oct 14, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/jawfish