# catfish

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkætfɪʃ/ · frequency rank #18,266

## Definitions
1. Any fish of the order Siluriformes, mainly found in fresh water, lacking scales, and having barbels like whiskers around the mouth.
2. The meat of such a fish, popular in the Southern U.S. and Central Europe.

## Etymology
From cat + fish. Likely so named for its prominent barbels like a cat's whiskers. Compare West Frisian katfisk (“catfish”), Dutch katvis (“catfish”). Compare also German Seekatze (“catfish”, literally “sea-cat”).

## Easily confused with
- **crayfish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/catfish-vs-crayfish)
- **crawfish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/catfish-vs-crawfish)

## Common misspellings (11)
`actfish`, `caftish`, `catffish`, `catfihs`, `catfishh`, `catfissh`, `catfsih`, `catifsh`, `cattfish`, `ccatfish`, `ctafish`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/catfish