Standard Lemma guide

flatfish

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.

  • /ˈflætfɪʃ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ætfɪʃ
  • CMU ARPABET: F L AE1 T F IH2 SH Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A fish of the order Pleuronectiformes, the adults of which have both eyes on one side and usually swim with the other side down, such as a flounder, a halibut, or a sole.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

any of several families of fishes having flattened bodies that swim along the sea floor on one side of the body with both eyes on the upper side

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: flounder, righteye flounder, righteyed flounder, halibut, holibut, lefteye flounder, lefteyed flounder, tonguefish, tongue-fish, sole

3

noun

Meaning 3

sweet lean whitish flesh of any of numerous thin-bodied fish; usually served as thin fillets

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: saltwater fish

Narrower terms: flounder, sole, fillet of sole, halibut

History

Etymology

From flat + fish.

Across languages

Translations

53 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: سمكَة مفلطحَة — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Basque: platuxa — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Belarusian: ка́мбала (kámbala) — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Chinese Mandarin: 比目魚 /比目鱼 (bǐmùyú) — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Czech: platýs — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Czech: kambala — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Danish: fladfisk — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Danish: flynder — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Dutch: platvis — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Estonian: lestaline (kala) — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Finnish: kampela — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Finnish: kampelakala — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • French: poisson plat — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • German: Plattfisch — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Greek: πλατύψαρο (platýpsaro) — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Ancient Greek: κίθαρος (kítharos) — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Ancient Greek: ψῆττα (psêtta) — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Hungarian: lepényhal — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Irish: leadhbóg — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Irish: leathóg — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Irish: iasc leathógach — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Irish: leith — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Italian: rombo — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Japanese: 鰈 (karei) — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Japanese: カレイ (karei) — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Kazakh: камбала (kambala) — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Korean: 가자미 (gajami) — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Latvian: plekste — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Lithuanian: plekšnė — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Māori: pātiki — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Navajo: łóóʼtʼą́hí — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Nootka: p̕uuḥu — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Norwegian: flatfisk — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Norwegian: flyndrefisk — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Polish: płastuga — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Portuguese: linguado — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Portuguese: solha — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Russian: пло́ская ры́ба (plóskaja rýba) — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Scottish Gaelic: pacach-cearr — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Serbo-Croatian: plosnatica — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Spanish: pez plano — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Swedish: plattfisk — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Tagalog: isdang-lapad — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Tagalog: darapa — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Ukrainian: ка́мбала (kámbala) — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Vietnamese: cá bơn — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Vietnamese: cá thờn bơn — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Vietnamese: cá lờn bơn — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Vietnamese: thờn bơn — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Vietnamese: lờn bơn — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Welsh: lleden — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Yiddish: קאָמבעלע (kombele) — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes
  • Yiddish: פֿלאָנדערקע (flonderke) — fish of the order Pleuronectiformes