What Does CATFISH Mean?

A CATFISH is a false online persona to lure someone into an online relationship. The term CATFISH can also be used as a verb meaning "to lure someone into a relationship by adopting a false persona online."

Of note, the scope of the term CATFISH is steadily expanding. The term is increasingly used to denote any false online persona (i.e., not expressly for the purpose of luring someone into a relationship). For example, someone trolling an internet chat forum using a false persona might also be called a CATFISH. (A person using a false identity is also called a SOCKPUPPET.)

Summary of Key Points

"Individual Who Creates a False Online Identity" is the most common definition for CATFISH on Snapchat, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Definition:Fake Online Persona
Type:Slang Word (Jargon)
4: Difficult to guess
Typical Users:
Adults and Teenagers

Image for CATFISH

When I write CATFISH, I mean this:

meaning of CATFISH
A CATFISH is a fake online persona.


Examples of CATFISH in Sentences

Here are examples of CATFISH being used in conversations:
  • Pete: Did you meet that cheerleader at the cinema?
  • Jordan: She didn't show. I think she might be a CATFISH.
  • Sam: I was seriously CATFISHED by a man last night.
  • Jo: How do you know?
  • Sam: When I asked for a photo, he sent me a picture of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, and when we spoke, it was clearly someone putting on a woman's voice.

An Academic Look at CATFISH

CATFISH is a word which is employed as slang word. (Slang refers to words, phrases and uses of language that are regarded as very informal and which are often restricted to a special context or a particular group of users.)

CATFISH can be used as a noun or a transitive verb. For example:
  • She is a CATFISH.
  • (Here, CATFISH is a noun.)
  • She CATFISHED John.
  • (Here, CATFISH is a verb. Note that it is transitive; i.e., it can take a direct object (here, John).)

What Did We Use To Say?

Before the digital era, we might have said something like "fake persona" instead of CATFISH.

Example of CATFISH Used in a Text


See Also

Selves-isolating (Locking down with a partner) SOCKPUPPET (person using a false identity) ID (identity) <>< (fish) POF (plenty of fish (dating website))