starfish
/ˈstɑː(ɹ)fɪʃ/noun, verb
starfish is spelled S-T-A-R-F-I-S-H: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,918th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, starfish means “Any of various echinoderms (not in fact fish) with usually five arms, many of which eat bivalves or corals by everting their stomach” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of starfish is starfishes.
How many letters and syllables are in starfish?
| Letters | 8: S-T-A-R-F-I-S-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.0 times per million words; the 28,918th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is starfish?
Starfish appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,918th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce starfish?
- /ˈstɑː(ɹ)fɪʃ/
Starfish has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-starfish.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of starfish
- starfishes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- starfishing participle, present
- starfished participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does starfish mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of various echinoderms (not in fact fish) with usually five arms, many of which eat bivalves or corals by everting their stomach.
Near-synonym: Asteroidea
- 2
obsoleteAny many-armed or tentacled sea invertebrate, whether cnidarian, echinoderm, or cephalopod.
- 3
slangA woman (or, less commonly, a gay man) who reluctantly takes part in sexual intercourse, and lies on the back while spreading the limbs.
- 4
slangvulgarThe anus.
verb
- 1
To assume a splayed-out shape, like that of a starfish.
- 2
While floating on water
- 3
To form into a splayed-out shape, like that of a starfish.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Starfish in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense various echinoderms:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | étoile de mer |
| German | Seestern |
| Portuguese | estrela-do-mar |
| Spanish | estrella de mar, estrella marina |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does starfish come from?
From star + fish.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).