| Noun | 1. | catfish - flesh of scaleless food fish of the southern United States; often farmedfreshwater fish - flesh of fish from fresh water used as food |
| 2. | catfish - large ferocious northern deep-sea food fishes with strong teeth and no pelvic fins blennioid, blennioid fish - elongated mostly scaleless marine fishes with large pectoral fins and reduced pelvic fins Anarhichas, genus Anarhichas - type genus of the Anarhichadidae | |
| 3. | malacopterygian, soft-finned fish - any fish of the superorder Malacopterygii order Siluriformes, Siluriformes - an order of fish belonging to the superorder Malacopterygii including catfishes silurid, silurid fish - Old World freshwater catfishes having naked skin and a long anal fin more or less merged with the eellike caudal fin bullhead catfish, bullhead - any of several common freshwater catfishes of the United States channel cat, channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus - freshwater food fish common throughout central United States flathead catfish, goujon, Pylodictus olivaris, shovelnose catfish, spoonbill catfish, mudcat - large catfish of central United States having a flattened head and projecting jaw armored catfish - South American catfish having the body covered with bony plates sea catfish - any of numerous marine fishes most of which are mouthbreeders; not used for food |