What does gar mean?
Gar usually denotes a member of the Lepidosteidae, a family of long-bodied freshwater fish recognized by an elongated snout and numerous needle-like teeth. Species include the alligator gar, spotted gar, and long-nosed gar. The name is chiefly used in North America; in British English, garfish ordinarily refers instead to the European needlefish, a different family, so regional context matters when the two names overlap. In ordinary use, gar names the animal itself rather than its flesh, and it may appear in wildlife descriptions, fishing accounts, natural-history writing, and discussions of invasive species. The word can also sound informal or exaggerated in phrases about an extraordinary fish, although its basic zoological sense is neutral. An older, now rare English sense of gar meant a spear or javelin, a history reflected in the word's development. Together, its two histories make a compact word with a sharp double edge: a name for a formidable fish and a survivor from the vocabulary of weapons.
nounAny of several long-bodied, predatory freshwater fishes with elongated jaws lined with sharp, needle-like teeth, including the alligator gar and spotted gar. The word also has an archaic sense meaning a spear or javelin.
- Any of several predatory freshwater fishes of the family Lepidosteidae, characterized by an elongated snout and sharp teeth.
- Archaically, a spear, pike, or javelin.
"An alligator gar glided beneath the surface, its long snout and numerous teeth making it look like a weapon."
"A gar waited below the surface, almost invisible among the submerged vegetation."
"The spear was an old form of gar, carried by soldiers before firearms became common."
The standard plural is gars. In British English, garfish is normally used without a plural ending and usually refers to a different fish.
"Several gars surfaced in the shallow water."
Gar can mean a spear, a javelin, or today's long-snouted fish, so the same word has pointed in two directions.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does gar come from?
English gar meaning "a spear or javelin" was borrowed from Old French gar. The fish name developed from the earlier compound garfish, formed from gar and fish, and was later shortened to gar. The garfish's long, spear-like snout reinforces the connection with the older weapon sense.
Related word forms
How gar is actually used
The fish sense is standard in North American English. British speakers are more likely to use garfish for the European needlefish, a superficially similar but taxonomically different fish. The older sense meaning a spear or javelin is historical and rare in contemporary use.
Easily confused with gar
In North American usage, garfish can be another name for a gar; in British English, it ordinarily names the European needlefish, which belongs to a different fish family.