Standard Lemma guide

halfbeak

noun · 2 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

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1

noun

Meaning 1

Any slender, marine fish of the family Hemiramphidae, having the upper jaw much shorter than the lower, the balahoos or ballyhoos.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, natural-sciences, zoology

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

tropical and subtropical marine and freshwater fishes having an elongated body and long protruding lower jaw

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: teleost fish, teleost, teleostan

History

Etymology

From half + beak.

Across languages

Translations

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: migbec — any slender, marine fish of the family Hemiramphidae
  • Malayalam: മുരശ് (muraśŭ) — any slender, marine fish of the family Hemiramphidae
  • Marshallese: buwaj — any slender, marine fish of the family Hemiramphidae
  • Marshallese: kuwaj — any slender, marine fish of the family Hemiramphidae
  • Russian: полуры́л (polurýl) — any slender, marine fish of the family Hemiramphidae
  • Tagalog: buging — any slender, marine fish of the family Hemiramphidae
  • Tagalog: siliw — any slender, marine fish of the family Hemiramphidae