Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of various tropical American freshwater fishes of several genera, especially Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus, that have sharp teeth and are known for attacking and feeding on live animals.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Any of the
carnivorous freshwater fish living inSouth American rivers and belonging to the families of Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun small voraciously carnivorous freshwater fishes of South America that attack and destroy living animals
- noun someone who attacks in search of booty
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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He can catch bullets in his nostrils, leap from buildings and remain unmoved when a piranha is placed in his swim trunks.
Kevin's Review: You Don't Mess with the Zohan - Zohan's Crotch, That Is « FirstShowing.net 2008
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I now have a special affinity with the beastie as I was called a piranha on 18 Doughty Street when I took part in Vox Politix on Friday.
Archive 2007-02-01 Richard 2007
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Close up ... well, they've been called piranha ant nests.
Crashlander Niven, Larry 1994
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But the piranha is a short, deep-bodied fish, with a blunt face and a heavily undershot or projecting lower jaw which gapes widely.
II. Up the Paraguay 1914
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But the piranha is a short, deep-bodied fish, with a blunt face and a heavily undershot or projecting lower jaw which gapes widely.
Through the Brazilian Wilderness Theodore Roosevelt 1888
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"It's often misidentified as a piranha," Wattendorf said of the species.
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The piranha is a member of Characidae (also called Characin) family.
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I'll need to log Give the machines static IP addresses appropriate for the in, using the username piranha and the password I just set. internal network.
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Up the fire with the "piranha" sauce, fueled with jalapeño and cilantro.
A welcome change for Ward 7 -- But the latest Ray's needs beefing up 2010
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Neysa Moskowitz, whose 20-year-old daughter, Stacy, was killed just 10 days before Berkowitz was arrested, denounced Lee last week as a "piranha" who "just wants to make a buck."
One Crazy 'Summer' 2008
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