Someone who pretends to be a different person online, usually with stolen or AI-generated photos, to trick people into online relationships.
Das ist tatsächlich in Louisiana eine übliche Fischfangtechnik. Das nennt sich Noodling. Man nervt den Catfish (Wels) so lange in seinem Versteck, bis er einem in die Hand beißt, und dann packt man ihn und zieht ihn r…
Hunter has been the subject of numerous popular culture references, including the Bob Dylan song "Catfish".
Someone who pretends to be a different person online, usually with stolen or AI-generated photos, to trick people into online relationships. Named after the 2010 documentary "Catfish" and its MTV spinoff. Modern catfish pass video calls with deepfake filters — verification is now its own niche skill.
catfish means Someone who pretends to be a different person online, usually with stolen or AI-generated photos, to trick people into online relationships. It's mostly used in dating-app and relationship conversations. It's casual and generally safe with friends and online. It's standard online vocabulary; nothing inherently concerning about hearing it.
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
Add your own interpretation of "catfish".
How people talk about dating apps, modern romance, and the situationships they swear they're over — from ghosting and breadcrumbing to soft-launching, hard-launching, and the ick.
See all Relationships & Dating slang on Slangora.
Browse all slang words starting with C.
A catfisher is someone who deliberately constructs a false online identity — using stolen photos, fabricated backstories, and manufactured personas — to deceive others, typically to pursue romantic relationships, financial gain, or emotional manipulation. Unlike the more general 'catfish' (which can be noun or verb), catfisher is an unambiguous agent noun: this is the person doing it, the active deceiver rather than the act itself. Catfishers range from heartbroken teens pretending to be someone cooler to organized scammers running romance fraud operations at industrial scale.
Catfish mode is the deliberate headspace someone enters when they're actively running a fake online persona — hyper-vigilant, story-consistent, and ready to deflect any video call requests with creative excuses. It's not just having a fake account; it's the mental state of maintaining one, toggling between your real self and the constructed identity. Used casually online to describe someone who's switched into full deception autopilot: careful DMs, staged photos, vague location details. Also used self-deprecatingly when someone just doesn't want to show their real face.
A catfish queen is someone who has elevated the art of online deception into a full lifestyle — not just faking a profile pic but crafting an airtight alternate identity complete with backstory, fake friends, and a consistent posting history. The title implies mastery and a certain theatrical flair. Online, it's used both as shade ('she's a full catfish queen, nothing on that page is real') and as reluctant admiration for the sheer commitment involved. The 'queen' framing signals someone who doesn't catfish out of insecurity but almost as performance.
Catfish are a diverse group of ray-finned fish of the order Siluriformes (historically Nematognathi).
"Bro they met in person and she was 20 years older than her profile. Full catfish."
catfish means Someone who pretends to be a different person online, usually with stolen or AI-generated photos, to trick people into online relationships. It's mostly used in dating-app and relationship conversations. It's casual and generally safe with friends and online. It's standard online vocabulary; nothing inherently concerning about hearing it.
"catfish" is slang. It means: Someone who pretends to be a different person online, usually with stolen or AI-generated photos, to trick people into online relationships. Register: casual. Use it in: casual conversation and online posts. Avoid in: formal writing and professional emails.
“Das ist tatsächlich in Louisiana eine übliche Fischfangtechnik. Das nennt sich Noodling. Man nervt den Catfish (Wels) so lange in seinem Versteck, bis er einem in die Hand beißt, und dann packt man ihn und zieht ihn raus.”
“Hunter has been the subject of numerous popular culture references, including the Bob Dylan song "Catfish".”
“Catfish are a diverse group of ray-finned fish of the order Siluriformes (historically Nematognathi).”
“James Augustus "Catfish" Hunter (April 8, 1946 – September 9, 1999) was an American professional baseball player in Major League Baseball (MLB).”
“Catfish are named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not all catfish have prominent barbels.”