Meaning & use
piranha fish
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A small freshwater fish from South American rivers with sharp teeth, known for biting in groups.
Grammar: Countable: a piranha fish; plural piranha fish or piranhas.
Patterns
- school of piranha fish
- feed piranha fish
The piranha fish swam in a tight school near the river bank.
We saw a piranha fish at the aquarium.
Local guides warned us not to swim near piranha fish.
nouncountablefigurativeinformal
A fierce, greedy person, often a ruthless business rival.
Grammar: Figurative: used of people who attack ruthlessly.
Patterns
- act like a piranha
The lawyers were piranha fish circling the weaker company.
In the job market, she faced piranha fish competitors.
The press behaved like piranha fish after the scandal.
Word forms
| plural | piranha fish |
|---|
Common combinations
- school of piranha fish
- A school of piranha fish stripped the carcass.
- feed piranha fish
- The keeper fed the piranha fish meat.
- swim with piranha fish
- No one dared swim with piranha fish.
- red-bellied piranha fish
- The red-bellied piranha fish is the most famous type.
- piranha fish tank
- The piranha fish tank held twenty fish.
Synonyms and how they differ
- piranha
- Piranha alone is the usual, shorter name for the same fish.
- pacu
- Pacu is a related plant-eating fish and is often mistaken for piranha.
- predator fish
- Predator fish is a general phrase covering any hunting fish.
Word family
Commonly confused: piranha fish or barracuda?
piranha fish vs barracuda
A barracuda is a large sea fish, whereas piranhas are small river fish.
Practice
A piranha fish lives mostly in ___.
Choose one answer.
Piranhas live in freshwater rivers of South America. The others are not their usual habitat.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “piranha fish”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.