A complete look at the collective nouns for fish. From schools to shoals, discover the words used for different species.
🐟 Fish · Collective Nouns What Is a Group of Minnows Called? Small fish, big numbers, and a name for their bait bucket that punches above its weight. 💬 A group of minnows is most often called a shoal, with steam, stream, and swarm also used depending on how tightly they’re packed and moving. “Minnow” … Read more
🐟 Fish · Collective Nouns What Is a Group of Sharks Called? The ocean’s most feared predator has a collective noun as sharp as its reputation. 💬 A group of sharks is most often called a shiver, with school, shoal, and pack used as alternates. Sharks (superorder Selachimorpha) have patrolled the oceans for over 400 … Read more
🐟 Fish · Collective Nouns What Is a Group of Cod Called? A humble fish with an outsized place in history — and a collective noun most people have never heard of. 💬 A group of cod is most often called a lap, with school used as a common general alternate. Cod (genus Gadus) have … Read more
🐟 Fish · Collective Nouns What Is a Group of Eels Called? A slippery, shape-shifting fish whose life cycle is stranger than its collective noun. 💬 A group of eels is most often called a bind, with fry and swarm also used, especially for young eels and mass migrations. Eels (order Anguilliformes) spend most of … Read more
🐠 Fish · Collective Nouns What Is a Group of Butterfly Fish Called? A brightly patterned reef fish that pairs up or schools depending on the species. 💬 A group of butterfly fish is called a school. Butterfly fish are small, brightly patterned reef fish named for their flattened, wing-like body shape and bold coloring, … Read more
📖 Collective Noun Lookup What Animals Form a Cluster? A word for grapes on the vine, stretched to cover one prickly fish and eight-legged neighbors. 💬 “Cluster” is a collective noun for porcupine fish and spiders — two very different animals joined by a simple, literal idea: bodies bunched tightly together in one spot. Quick … Read more
📖 Collective Noun Lookup What Animals Form a Shoal? A word for schooling fish that, unexpectedly, also fits a huddle of baby geese. 💬 “Shoal” is a collective noun for bass, goslings, mackerel, minnows, and pilchards — the standard term for four schooling fish, and a surprising, less common alternate for baby geese. Quick Facts … Read more
📖 Collective Noun Lookup What Animals Form a Brood? The word for a clutch of young raised together — mostly feathers, with one surprising outlier. 💬 “Brood” is a collective noun for chickens, grouse, hens, and turkeys — the classic term for a set of young hatched and raised together — plus jellyfish, a much … Read more
🐡 Fish · Collective Nouns What Is a Group of Porcupine Fish Called? A spiny fish that borrows its family group name from its close relative, the pufferfish. 💬 A group of porcupine fish is called a cluster. Porcupine fish are closely related to pufferfish, sharing the same striking ability to inflate their bodies when … Read more
📖 Collective Noun Lookup What Animals Form a Gam? A word borrowed straight from 19th-century whaling ships — before it meant a group of whales, it meant a friendly visit between them. 💬 “Gam” is a collective noun for porpoises and whales — a term that started life on 19th-century whaling ships, where a “gam” … Read more