wrasse Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun chiefly tropical marine fishes with fleshy lips and powerful teeth; usually brightly colored

W. gwrachen.

(Zoöl.) Any one of numerous edible, marine, spiny-finned fishes of the genus Labrus, of which several species are found in the Mediterranean and on the Atlantic coast of Europe. Many of the species are bright-colored. ✍ Among the European species are the ballan wrasse (Labrus maculatus), the streaked wrasse (L. lineatus), the red wrasse (L. mixtus), the comber wrasse (L. comber), the blue-striped, or cook, wrasse (see Peacock fish, under Peacock), the rainbow wrasse (L. vulgaris), and the seawife.