Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cuttlefish

/ˈkʌt(ə)lfɪʃ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.53 in modern English

Syllables: cut-tle-fish
IPA: /ˈkʌt(ə)lfɪʃ/

18

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any squid-like cephalopods (marine mollusks) of the order Sepiida that have eight arms, two retractable tentacles, and a calcareous internal shell, and can eject a dark ink when threatened.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"Cuttle-fish, spiced oysters, sea hedge-hogs, and lobsters were among the ingredients of love-potions that reputed thaumaturgist Apuleius [...] was accused of have prepared in order to win the love of a widow."
"Fossilised ink sacs are more conclusively known from the extinct “soft-bodied” Coleoidea cephalopods in groups Belemitida (including belemnites with bullet-like internal skeletons commonly found as fossils) and Phragmoteuthida as well as from squid, octopus and cuttlefish fossils."

Etymology

From cuttle + fish.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈkʌt(ə)lfɪʃ/
British English: /ˈkʌtl̩fɪʃ/

Usage

Inflected Forms

cuttlefishes (plural)

Derived Forms

cuttlebone

Phrases

common cuttlefish cuttlefish bone

Frequently Paired Words

octopus squid nautilus

Synonyms

cuttle inkfish sepia

Questions

How do you pronounce cuttlefish?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkʌt(ə)lfɪʃ/.
What does cuttlefish mean?: Any squid-like cephalopods (marine mollusks) of the order Sepiida that have eight arms, two retractable tentacles, and a calcareous internal shell, and can eject a dark ink when threatened.
Where does cuttlefish come from?: From cuttle + fish.

How to pronounce cuttlefish

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “cuttlefish”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈkʌt(ə)lfɪʃ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “cuttlefish”.
Repeat and practice — Say “cuttlefish” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.