Catfish

Definitions

1. Any fish of the order Siluriformes, mainly found in fresh water, lacking scales, and having barbels like whiskers around the mouth.
   countable, uncountable
2. Someone who creates a false profile on a social media platform in order to deceive people.
   Internet
3. The meat of such a fish, popular in the Southern U.S. and Central Europe.
   countable, uncountable
4. Such a false profile.
   Internet

Equivalents

Examples

““You don’t see⟳ catfish that big anymore, except in Chernobyl […] Nobody fishes there anymore, so the catfish thrive. They’ve gotten really enormous, some even twelve or thirteen feet long. They’re bottom-feeders, and apparently the mud still contains a lot of radioactive particles, but the catfish don’t seem to mind⟳.””

“Real people in a picture that was used by a catfish to create⟳ a fake identity could have⟳ a claim⟳ because their likeness was used without permission, Shear said.”

“Many online dating users create⟳ profiles on these online dating platforms looking for potential partners. However, they might end⟳ up meeting with users who have⟳ bad intentions, potential catfish. These catfish have⟳ begun pushing away potential, innocent users and possibly hindering the success of these online dating platforms.”

CEFR level