WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
soap•fish
(sōp′fish′),USA pronunciation n., pl. (esp. collectively) -fish, (esp. referring to two or more kinds or species) -fish•es.
- Fishany of several serranid fishes of the genus Rypticus, producing a body mucus that gives the skin a soapy quality, as R. saponaceus, inhabiting shallow waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
- soap + fish 1875–80