weakfish
noun
weak·fish
ˈwēk-ˌfish 
1
: a common marine bony fish (Cynoscion regalis of the family Sciaenidae) of the eastern coast of the U.S. that is an important sport and food fish
called also sea trout
2
: any of several fishes congeneric with the weakfish
Examples of weakfish in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Otherwise, its list of seafood species is a good reason to go out on a boat into the Sound or along the South coast for the springtime migration of striped bass, black bass, bluefish, porgy, weakfish, scup, hickory shad and tautog all ready to bite.
—
John Mariani, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025
Hundreds of millions of the little, silvery fish play a crucial role in the ecology of coastal waters all along the Eastern Seaboard, feeding bigger fish like striped bass and weakfish; marine mammals including whales and dolphins; and birds like bald eagles, great blue herons and brown pelicans.
—Jon Hurdle, New York Times, 11 July 2023
Overfishing probably wasn’t the cause of the weakfish’s latest decline.
—Capt. John McMurray, Field & Stream, 10 Feb. 2020
The fishing was better there, anyway: Trump and his buddies fished all day long, hauling in fluke, weakfish, and porgies, while beachgoers admired the boat from afar.
—Thomas J. Campanella, The New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2019
Climate change was expected to make staple crops less nutritious and to lower the global availability of protein by a fifth, and may alter the mating calls of male weakfish.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's magazine, 16 Sep. 2019
Also, look for weakfish in Guilford/Madison/New Haven Harbor areas.
—Hartford Courant, courant.com, 31 Aug. 2017
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John Mariani, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025
Hundreds of millions of the little, silvery fish play a crucial role in the ecology of coastal waters all along the Eastern Seaboard, feeding bigger fish like striped bass and weakfish; marine mammals including whales and dolphins; and birds like bald eagles, great blue herons and brown pelicans.
—Jon Hurdle, New York Times, 11 July 2023
Overfishing probably wasn’t the cause of the weakfish’s latest decline.
—Capt. John McMurray, Field & Stream, 10 Feb. 2020
The fishing was better there, anyway: Trump and his buddies fished all day long, hauling in fluke, weakfish, and porgies, while beachgoers admired the boat from afar.
—Thomas J. Campanella, The New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2019
Climate change was expected to make staple crops less nutritious and to lower the global availability of protein by a fifth, and may alter the mating calls of male weakfish.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's magazine, 16 Sep. 2019
Also, look for weakfish in Guilford/Madison/New Haven Harbor areas.
—Hartford Courant, courant.com, 31 Aug. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Weakfish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/weakfish. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
weakfish
noun
weak·fish
ˈwēk-ˌfish
: a common fish of the eastern coast of the U.S. that is an important food and sport fish
also
: any of several related fishes used for food
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