Meaning & use
piranha
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountablebiology
A small South American freshwater fish with razor-sharp teeth that often hunts in groups.
Grammar: Plural piranhas or piranha: a school of piranhas.
Patterns
- a school of piranhas
Piranhas live in rivers in the Amazon basin.
The guide warned us not to swim where piranhas feed.
A shoal of piranhas stripped the bait in seconds.
nouncountablefigurativeinformal
A ruthless or greedy person who takes advantage of others.
Grammar: Used figuratively, often in business.
Patterns
- a piranha in business
The lawyers circled the weak company like piranhas.
He is known as a piranha in contract talks.
Reporters turned into piranhas when the scandal broke.
Word forms
| plural | piranhas |
|---|
Common combinations
- school of piranhas
- A school of piranhas swam beneath the boat.
- piranha attack
- A piranha attack is rare in real life.
- feeding frenzy
- The piranhas went into a feeding frenzy.
- piranha-infested waters
- They crossed the piranha-infested waters carefully.
- red-bellied piranha
- The red-bellied piranha is the best-known species.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- piranhas noun
- plural form
- piranha-like adjective
- fierce and greedy like a piranha
Commonly confused: piranha or pirana? piranha or pariah?
piranha vs pirana
Pirana is a common misspelling. The standard spelling is piranha with an h.
piranha vs pariah
A pariah is an outcast. It is not the same word as piranha, even though both start with p.
Practice
Which spelling is correct for the South American fish?
Choose one answer.
The standard spelling is piranha, with the h after the n. The other forms are misspellings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “piranha”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.