blowfish

/ˈbloʊˌfɪʃ/

//ˈbloʊˌfɪʃ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"blowfish" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“blowfish” is uncommon English (frequency #67,268 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,268
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any species of fish of the family Tetraodontidae that have the ability to inflate themselves to a globe several times their normal size by swallowing water or air when threatened.

Corpus desk

Index EN-blowfish · blowfish · English

blowfish · rank #67,268 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,268
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH bogle

Nearest frequency peer: bogle (+1 rank slots)

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.

Long-tail ranks near “blowfish”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “blowfish” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for blowfish
PropertyValue
Headwordblowfish
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbloʊˌfɪʃ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#67,268
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “blowfish” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).blowfishfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “bogle” (#67,269), “Bleecker” (#67,266), “blakey” (#67,265). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “blowfish” is #67,268. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

blowfish is uncommon English at frequency #67,268 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbloʊˌfɪʃ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for blowfish in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From blow + fish. The correct English form is blowfish, spelled B-L-O-W-F-I-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any species of fish of the family Tetraodontidae that have the ability to inflate themselves to a globe several times their normal size by swallowing water or air when threatened.
  2. 2
    A delicacy popular in Japan, consisting of the fish served raw as sushi or perhaps fried. It may, if improperly prepared, contain considerably deadly levels of neurotoxins.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how blowfish appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Where the waves wish-wash, and the foghorn blows, And the blowfish nibble at your toes - oes - oes, The blowfish nibble at your toes.
  2. Fugu, the blowfish or globefish, offers taste, health and adventure in every bite.

Etymology

From blow + fish.

Synonyms

balloonfishglobefishpufferpufferfishswellfishfugu

This word in other languages

orbe(Español)poisson ballon(Français)Kugelfisch(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "blowfish"?
"blowfish" is spelled B-L-O-W-F-I-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbloʊˌfɪʃ/.
What does "blowfish" mean?
As a noun, "blowfish" means: Any species of fish of the family Tetraodontidae that have the ability to inflate themselves to a globe several times their normal size by swallowing water or air when threatened.
How do you pronounce "blowfish"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "blowfish" is /ˈbloʊˌfɪʃ/. 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 "blowfish"?
From blow + 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "blowfish", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Bleecker#67,266bondsman#67,271bisected#67,263Birkbeck#67,261

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list