weakfish

noun

weak·​fish ˈwēk-ˌfish 

1

: a common marine bony fish (Cynoscion regalis of the family Sciaenidae) of the eastern coast of the U.S. that is an important sport and food fish

called also sea trout

2

: any of several fishes congeneric with the weakfish

Examples of weakfish in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Hundreds of millions of the little, silvery fish play a crucial role in the ecology of coastal waters all along the Eastern Seaboard, feeding bigger fish like striped bass and weakfish; marine mammals including whales and dolphins; and birds like bald eagles, great blue herons and brown pelicans. —Jon Hurdle, New York Times, 11 July 2023

Overfishing probably wasn’t the cause of the weakfish’s latest decline. —Capt. John McMurray, Field & Stream, 10 Feb. 2020

The fishing was better there, anyway: Trump and his buddies fished all day long, hauling in fluke, weakfish, and porgies, while beachgoers admired the boat from afar. —Thomas J. Campanella, The New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2019

Climate change was expected to make staple crops less nutritious and to lower the global availability of protein by a fifth, and may alter the mating calls of male weakfish. —Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's magazine, 16 Sep. 2019

Also, look for weakfish in Guilford/Madison/New Haven Harbor areas. —Hartford Courant, courant.com, 31 Aug. 2017

Most commonly taken are fluke, striped bass, weakfish, porgies and striped sea robins. —Frank Cohen, courant.com, 17 May 2017

Word History

Etymology

obsolete Dutch weekvis, from Dutch week soft + vis fish

First Known Use

1791, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

weakfish

noun

weak·​fish ˈwēk-ˌfish 

: a common fish of the eastern coast of the U.S. that is an important food and sport fish

also : any of several related fishes used for food