zebrafish

/ˈziːbɹəˌfɪʃ/

//ˈziːbɹəˌfɪʃ// noun

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

"zebrafish" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“zebrafish” is uncommon English (frequency #55,876 among 265 “Z” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#55,876
frequency rank, English
265
“Z” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small striped fish of species Danio rerio, originally from India but now common as an aquarium fish and as a subject of genetic experiments.

Corpus desk

Index EN-zebrafish · zebrafish · English

zebrafish · rank #55,876 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #55,876
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 265
  • PHOTO-FINISH Zaragoza

Nearest frequency peer: Zaragoza (-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 “zebrafish”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for zebrafish
PropertyValue
Headwordzebrafish
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈziːbɹəˌfɪʃ/
Letters9
Frequency rank#55,876
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “zebrafish” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).zebrafishfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Zaragoza” (#55,875), “yuko” (#55,873), “yuba” (#55,872). Among 265 “Z” headwords, “zebrafish” is #55,876. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

zebrafish is uncommon English at frequency #55,876 among 265 “Z” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈziːbɹəˌfɪʃ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for zebrafish in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From zebra + fish. The correct English form is zebrafish, spelled Z-E-B-R-A-F-I-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A small striped fish of species Danio rerio, originally from India but now common as an aquarium fish and as a subject of genetic experiments.
  2. 2
    A member of certain species of Percina (logperch).
  3. 3
    Certain venomous lionfish, of genus Pterois.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Use of the GAL4-UAS technique for targeted gene expression in the zebrafish.

Etymology

From zebra + fish.

Synonyms

rough-belly darter

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 "zebrafish"?
"zebrafish" is spelled Z-E-B-R-A-F-I-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈziːbɹəˌfɪʃ/.
What does "zebrafish" mean?
As a noun, "zebrafish" means: A small striped fish of species Danio rerio, originally from India but now common as an aquarium fish and as a subject of genetic experiments.
How do you pronounce "zebrafish"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "zebrafish" is /ˈziːbɹəˌfɪʃ/. 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 "zebrafish"?
From zebra + 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 "zebrafish", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Abdulaziz#55,885Wiesbaden#55,857Alcantara#55,898volcanism#55,844

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list