barracuda

First attested in the 1670s, from Latin American Spanish barracuda, perhaps from a Cariban word.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌbæɹəˈkuːdə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːdə

barracuda (plural barracuda or barracudas)

1. Any large marine fish of the genus Sphyraena that have elongated bodies, a projecting lower jaw, displaying prominent fang-shaped teeth, and are aggressive predators.
2. (figuratively) One who uses harsh or predatory means to compete.

• barracouta

• barracuda on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Sphyraena on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• “barracuda”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Borrowed from Spanish barracuda.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [bə.rəˈku.ðə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ba.raˈku.ða]

barracuda f (plural barracudes)

1. barracuda

• “barracuda”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Borrowed from English barracuda. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

• IPA^(key): /ˌbɑ.raːˈky.daː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: bar‧ra‧cu‧da

barracuda f (plural barracuda's, no diminutive)

1. barracuda, fish of the genus Sphyraena

   Synonym: zeesnoek

Borrowed from Spanish barracuda.

• IPA^(key): /ba.ʁa.ky.da/, /ba.ʁa.ku.da/

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

barracuda m (plural barracudas)

1. barracuda

Borrowed from Spanish barracuda.

• IPA^(key): /bar.raˈku.da/
• Rhymes: -uda
• Hyphenation: bar‧ra‧cù‧da

barracuda m (invariable)

1. barracuda

• barracuda in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

From Spanish barracuda.

• Rhymes: -udɐ

barracuda f (plural barracudas)

1. barracuda (large marine fish of the genus Sphyraena)

• “barracuda”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “barracuda”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Unknown, perhaps from a Cariban term. According to Watkins, from Valencian/Catalan barracó (“snaggletooth”); see barraca.

• IPA^(key): /baraˈkuda/ [ba.raˈku.ð̞a]
• Rhymes: -uda
• Syllabification: ba‧rra‧cu‧da

barracuda f (plural barracudas)

1. (zoology) barracuda

   Synonym: picuda

• “barracuda”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• “barracuda”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.