anglerfish

/ˈæŋɡlɚˌfɪʃ/

//ˈæŋɡlɚˌfɪʃ// noun

"anglerfish" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“anglerfish” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any fish of the bony fish order Lophiiformes, which have an outgrowth they wiggle to lure and catch their prey.

Corpus desk

Index EN-anglerfish · anglerfish · English

anglerfish · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for anglerfish
PropertyValue
Headwordanglerfish
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈæŋɡlɚˌfɪʃ/
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “anglerfish” in English

anglerfishfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

anglerfish is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈæŋɡlɚˌfɪʃ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Any fish of the bony fish order Lophiiformes, which have an outgrowth they wiggle to lure and catch their prey.".

Zero misspellings are on record for anglerfish in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From angler + fish. The correct English form is anglerfish, spelled A-N-G-L-E-R-F-I-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any fish of the bony fish order Lophiiformes, which have an outgrowth they wiggle to lure and catch their prey.

Etymology

From angler + fish.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "anglerfish"?
"anglerfish" is spelled A-N-G-L-E-R-F-I-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæŋɡlɚˌfɪʃ/.
What does "anglerfish" mean?
As a noun, "anglerfish" means: Any fish of the bony fish order Lophiiformes, which have an outgrowth they wiggle to lure and catch their prey.
How do you pronounce "anglerfish"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "anglerfish" is /ˈæŋɡlɚˌfɪʃ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "anglerfish"?
From angler + fish. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list