a silver variety of the goldfish Carassius auratus
2.
any of various other silvery fishes, such as the moonfish Monodactylus argenteus
3.
any of various small primitive wingless insects of the genus Lepisma, esp L. saccharina, that have long antennae and tail appendages and occur in buildings, feeding on food scraps, bookbindings, etc: order Thysanura (bristletails)
silverfish in American English
(ˈsɪlvərˌfɪʃ)
noun
1. Word forms: pluralˈsilverˌfish or ˈsilverˌfishes
any of various fishes of a silvery color, as the tarpon or silverside
2. Word forms: pluralˈsilverˌfish
any of various families of primitive, wingless thysanuran insects with silvery scales, long feelers, and a bristly tail: they thrive in dampness and darkness and are often injurious to books and other paper products
Examples of 'silverfish' in a sentence
silverfish
The Charter marks on its cover were familiar ones, a spell to keep the book clean and free of silverfish and moths.