whitefish

UK: /ˈwaɪtˌfɪʃ/ US: (hwīt′fish′, wīt′-)

Inflections of 'whitefish' (n):

whitefish

npl (Especially as a collective plural—e.g. "Whitefish are actually several different species of fish.")

whitefishes

npl (Mainly used to talk about different types—e.g. "Whitefishes include the Atlantic whitefish and the lake whitefish.")

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

white•fish  (hwīt′fish′, wīt′-), n., pl. (esp. collectively) -fish,  (esp. referring to two or more kinds or species) -fish•es. 

1. Fish any of several fishes of the family Coregonidae, inhabiting northern waters of North America and Eurasia, similar to the trout but having a smaller mouth and larger scales. Cf. lake whitefish, round whitefish. 
2. Fish a marine food fish of California, Caulolatilus princeps.
3. Fish any of various silvery fishes of the minnow or carp family.
4. Fish the beluga, Delphinapterus leucas.

• 1425–75; late Middle English; see white, fish

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

whitefish / ˈwaɪtˌfɪʃ/ noun ( -fish, -fishes)

1. any herring-like salmonoid food fish of the genus Coregonus and family Coregonidae, typically of deep cold lakes of the N hemisphere, having large silvery scales and a small head

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

white fish noun

1. (in the British fishing industry) any edible marine fish or invertebrate in which the main reserves of fat are in the liver, excluding herring, trout, sprat, mackerel, salmon, and shellfish