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Definition of "wrasse" [wrasse]

  • Any of numerous chiefly tropical, often brightly colored marine fishes of the family Labridae, having spiny fins, thick lips, and powerful jaws, and often valued for food. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "wrasse" in a sentence
  • "When a wrasse tends a great grouper, the little cleaner sometimes swims into the gill chambers and mouth, demonstrating remarkable faith that it is not going to be eaten."
  • "The cleaner wrasse gets its dinner by plucking parasites off the bodies of its “client” fishes, even from inside the mouths."
  • "Potassium cyanide is squirted directly at target fish species such as grouper or Napoleon wrasse, paralyzing them and enabling them to be collected alive."