"pilot fish" meaning in English

See pilot fish in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Forms: pilot fish [plural], pilot fishes [plural]
Etymology: So called from its having been supposed to guide sharks to their prey. Head templates: {{en-noun|*|+}} pilot fish (plural pilot fish or pilot fishes)
  1. A marine fish, Naucrates ductor, that often follows large vessels and sharks. Translations (marine fish): pámpanu (Asturian), pilotu (Asturian), риба-лоцман (riba-locman) [feminine] (Bulgarian), pàmpol [masculine] (Catalan), poisson pilote [masculine] (French), pesce pilota [masculine] (Italian), pompilus [masculine] (Latin), piloto [masculine] (Portuguese), peixe-piloto [masculine] (Portuguese), pește-pilot [masculine] (Romanian), ры́ба-ло́цман (rýba-lócman) [feminine] (Russian), pez piloto [masculine] (Spanish), לאָצמאַן (lotsman) [masculine] (Yiddish)

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

{
  "etymology_text": "So called from its having been supposed to guide sharks to their prey.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "pilot fish",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "pilot fishes",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "2": "+"
      },
      "expansion": "pilot fish (plural pilot fish or pilot fishes)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
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        },
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        },
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        },
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        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
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        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Latin translations",
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        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
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        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Romanian translations",
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        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
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        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
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        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
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        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Jackfish",
          "orig": "en:Jackfish",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A marine fish, Naucrates ductor, that often follows large vessels and sharks."
      ],
      "id": "en-pilot_fish-en-noun-HjpOIsyK",
      "links": [
        [
          "marine",
          "marine"
        ],
        [
          "shark",
          "shark"
        ]
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "ast",
          "lang": "Asturian",
          "lang_code": "ast",
          "sense": "marine fish",
          "word": "pámpanu"
        },
        {
          "code": "ast",
          "lang": "Asturian",
          "lang_code": "ast",
          "sense": "marine fish",
          "word": "pilotu"
        },
        {
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "lang_code": "bg",
          "roman": "riba-locman",
          "sense": "marine fish",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "риба-лоцман"
        },
        {
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "lang_code": "ca",
          "sense": "marine fish",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "pàmpol"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "lang_code": "fr",
          "sense": "marine fish",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "poisson pilote"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "lang_code": "it",
          "sense": "marine fish",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "pesce pilota"
        },
        {
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "lang_code": "la",
          "sense": "marine fish",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "pompilus"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "lang_code": "pt",
          "sense": "marine fish",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "piloto"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "lang_code": "pt",
          "sense": "marine fish",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "peixe-piloto"
        },
        {
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "lang_code": "ro",
          "sense": "marine fish",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "pește-pilot"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "lang_code": "ru",
          "roman": "rýba-lócman",
          "sense": "marine fish",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "ры́ба-ло́цман"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "lang_code": "es",
          "sense": "marine fish",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "pez piloto"
        },
        {
          "code": "yi",
          "lang": "Yiddish",
          "lang_code": "yi",
          "roman": "lotsman",
          "sense": "marine fish",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "לאָצמאַן"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "pilot fish"
}
{
  "etymology_text": "So called from its having been supposed to guide sharks to their prey.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "pilot fish",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "pilot fishes",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "2": "+"
      },
      "expansion": "pilot fish (plural pilot fish or pilot fishes)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English countable nouns",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English nouns",
        "Entries using missing taxonomic name (species)",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Terms with Asturian translations",
        "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
        "Terms with Catalan translations",
        "Terms with French translations",
        "Terms with Italian translations",
        "Terms with Latin translations",
        "Terms with Portuguese translations",
        "Terms with Romanian translations",
        "Terms with Russian translations",
        "Terms with Spanish translations",
        "Terms with Yiddish translations",
        "en:Jackfish"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A marine fish, Naucrates ductor, that often follows large vessels and sharks."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "marine",
          "marine"
        ],
        [
          "shark",
          "shark"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ast",
      "lang": "Asturian",
      "lang_code": "ast",
      "sense": "marine fish",
      "word": "pámpanu"
    },
    {
      "code": "ast",
      "lang": "Asturian",
      "lang_code": "ast",
      "sense": "marine fish",
      "word": "pilotu"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "lang_code": "bg",
      "roman": "riba-locman",
      "sense": "marine fish",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "риба-лоцман"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "lang_code": "ca",
      "sense": "marine fish",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "pàmpol"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "marine fish",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "poisson pilote"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "lang_code": "it",
      "sense": "marine fish",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "pesce pilota"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "lang_code": "la",
      "sense": "marine fish",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "pompilus"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "sense": "marine fish",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "piloto"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "sense": "marine fish",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "peixe-piloto"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "lang_code": "ro",
      "sense": "marine fish",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "pește-pilot"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "lang_code": "ru",
      "roman": "rýba-lócman",
      "sense": "marine fish",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "ры́ба-ло́цман"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "marine fish",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "pez piloto"
    },
    {
      "code": "yi",
      "lang": "Yiddish",
      "lang_code": "yi",
      "roman": "lotsman",
      "sense": "marine fish",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "לאָצמאַן"
    }
  ],
  "word": "pilot fish"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-01-25 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-01-01 using wiktextract (f492ef9 and 9905b1f). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.