Standard Lemma guide

barracuda

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˌbæɹəˈkuːdə/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -uːdə
  • CMU ARPABET: B EH2 R AH0 K UW1 D AH0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any large marine fish of the genus Sphyraena that have elongated bodies, a projecting lower jaw, displaying prominent fang-shaped teeth, and are aggressive predators.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

One who uses harsh or predatory means to compete.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

any voracious marine fish of the genus Sphyraena having an elongated cylindrical body and large mouth with projecting lower jaw and long strong teeth

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: spiny-finned fish, acanthopterygian

Narrower terms: great barracuda, Sphyraena barracuda

History

Etymology

First attested in the 1670s, from Latin American Spanish barracuda, perhaps from a Cariban word.

Across languages

Translations

34 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: бараку́да (barakúda) — marine fish
  • Catalan: barracuda — marine fish
  • Chinese Mandarin: 梭子魚 /梭子鱼 (suōziyú) — marine fish
  • Chinese Mandarin: 梭魚 /梭鱼 (suōyú) — marine fish
  • Czech: barakuda — marine fish
  • Dutch: zeesnoek — marine fish
  • Dutch: barracuda — marine fish
  • Finnish: barrakuda — marine fish
  • French: barracuda — marine fish
  • German: Barrakuda — marine fish
  • German: Pfeilhecht — marine fish
  • Greek: σφύραινα (sfýraina) — marine fish
  • Greek: μπαρακούντα (barakoúnta) — marine fish
  • Ancient Greek: σφύραινα (sphúraina) — marine fish
  • Ancient Greek: κέστρα (késtra) — marine fish
  • Icelandic: barrakúda — marine fish
  • Japanese: バラクーダ (barakūda) — marine fish
  • Japanese: 梭子魚 (kamasu) — marine fish
  • Japanese: カマス (kamasu) — marine fish
  • Korean: 꼬치고기 (kkochigogi) — marine fish
  • Malay: ikan alu-alu — marine fish
  • Malayalam: ശീലാവ് (śīlāvŭ) — marine fish
  • Malayalam: നെടുവ (neṭuva) — marine fish
  • Navajo: yílnoodii — marine fish
  • Polish: barakuda — marine fish
  • Portuguese: barracuda — marine fish
  • Romanian: baracudă — marine fish
  • Russian: барраку́да (barrakúda) — marine fish
  • Russian: морска́я щу́ка (morskája ščúka) — marine fish
  • Samoan: sapatū — marine fish
  • Serbo-Croatian: баракуда — marine fish
  • Spanish: barracuda — marine fish
  • Vietnamese: cá nhồng — marine fish
  • Vurës: non — marine fish