'Tiger shark' definitions:

Definition of 'tiger shark'

From: WordNet

noun

Large dangerous warm-water shark with striped or spotted body [syn: tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvieri]

Definition of 'Tiger shark'

From: GCIDE

Tiger \Ti"ger\, n. [OE. tigre, F. tigre, L. tigris, Gr. ti`gris; probably of Persian origin; cf. Zend tighra pointed, tighri an arrow, Per. t[imac]r; perhaps akin to E. stick, v. t.; -- probably so named from its quickness.]
1. A very large and powerful carnivore (Felis tigris) native of Southern Asia and the East Indies. Its back and sides are tawny or rufous yellow, transversely striped with black, the tail is ringed with black, the throat and belly are nearly white. When full grown, it equals or exceeds the lion in size and strength. Called also {royal tiger}, and Bengal tiger. [1913 Webster]
2. Fig.: A ferocious, bloodthirsty person. [1913 Webster]
As for heinous tiger, Tamora. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
3. A servant in livery, who rides with his master or mistress. --Dickens. [1913 Webster]
4. A kind of growl or screech, after cheering; as, three cheers and a tiger. [Colloq. U. S.] [1913 Webster]
5. A pneumatic box or pan used in refining sugar. [1913 Webster]
American tiger. (Zool.) (a) The puma. (b) The jaguar.
Clouded tiger (Zool.), a handsome striped and spotted carnivore (Felis macrocelis or Felis marmorata) native of the East Indies and Southern Asia. Its body is about three and a half feet long, and its tail about three feet long. Its ground color is brownish gray, and the dark markings are irregular stripes, spots, and rings, but there are always two dark bands on the face, one extending back from the eye, and one from the angle of the mouth. Called also tortoise-shell tiger.
Mexican tiger (Zool.), the jaguar.
Tiger beetle (Zool.), any one of numerous species of active carnivorous beetles of the family Cicindelidae. They usually inhabit dry or sandy places, and fly rapidly.
Tiger bittern. (Zool.) See Sun bittern, under Sun.
Tiger cat (Zool.), any one of several species of wild cats of moderate size with dark transverse bars or stripes somewhat resembling those of the tiger.
Tiger flower (Bot.), an iridaceous plant of the genus Tigridia (as Tigridia conchiflora, {Tigridia grandiflora}, etc.) having showy flowers, spotted or streaked somewhat like the skin of a tiger.
Tiger grass (Bot.), a low East Indian fan palm ({Chamaerops Ritchieana}). It is used in many ways by the natives. --J. Smith (Dict. Econ. Plants).
Tiger lily. (Bot.) See under Lily.
Tiger moth (Zool.), any one of numerous species of moths of the family Arctiadae which are striped or barred with black and white or with other conspicuous colors. The larvae are called woolly bears.
Tiger shark (Zool.), a voracious shark ({Galeocerdo tigrinus} syn. Galeocerdo maculatus) more or less barred or spotted with yellow. It is found in both the Atlantic and Indian Ocean. Called also zebra shark.
Tiger shell (Zool.), a large and conspicuously spotted cowrie (Cypraea tigris); -- so called from its fancied resemblance to a tiger in color and markings. Called also tiger cowrie.
Tiger snake (Zool.), either of two very venomous snakes of Tasmania and Australia, Notechis scutatis and {Notechis ater}, which grow up to 5 feet in length.
Tiger wolf (Zool.), the spotted hyena (Hyaena crocuta).
Tiger wood, the variegated heartwood of a tree ({Machaerium Schomburgkii}) found in Guiana. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Tiger shark'

From: GCIDE

Shark \Shark\ (sh[aum]rk), n. [Of uncertain origin; perhaps through OF. fr. carcharus a kind of dogfish, Gr. karchari`as, so called from its sharp teeth, fr. ka`rcharos having sharp or jagged teeth; or perhaps named from its rapacity (cf. Shark, v. t. & i.); cf. Corn. scarceas.]
1. (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of elasmobranch fishes of the order Plagiostomi, found in all seas. [1913 Webster]
Note: Some sharks, as the basking shark and the whale shark, grow to an enormous size, the former becoming forty feet or more, and the latter sixty feet or more, in length. Most of them are harmless to man, but some are exceedingly voracious. The man-eating sharks mostly belong to the genera Carcharhinus, Carcharodon, and related genera. They have several rows of large sharp teeth with serrated edges, as the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias or Carcharodon Rondeleti) of tropical seas, and the great blue shark (Carcharhinus glaucus syn. Prionace glauca) of all tropical and temperate seas. The former sometimes becomes thirty-six feet long, and is the most voracious and dangerous species known. The rare man-eating shark of the United States coast (Carcharodon Atwoodi) is thought by some to be a variety, or the young, of Carcharodon carcharias. The dusky shark (Carcharhinus obscurus) is a common species on the coast of the United States of moderate size and not dangerous. It feeds on shellfish and bottom fishes. [1913 Webster]
Note: The original 1913 Webster also mentioned a "smaller blue shark (C. caudatus)", but this species could not be found mentioned on the Web (August 2002). The following is a list of Atlantic Ocean sharks: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Common and Scientific Names of Atlantic Sharks * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * from "Our Living Oceans 1995" (published by the National Printing Office): NMFS. 1999. Our Living Oceans. Report on the status of U.S. living marine resources, 1999. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-F/SPO-41, on-line version, http://spo.nwr.noaa.gov/olo99.htm. (the following list is found at at http://spo.nwr.noaa.gov/app5.pdf) (1) Pelagic Sharks Thresher shark (Alopias vulpinus) Bigeye thresher (Alopias superciliosus) Oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus) Sevengill shark (Heptrachias perlo) Sixgill shark (Hexanchus griseus) Bigeye sixgill shark (Hexanchus vitulus) Shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) Longfin mako (Isurus paucus) Porbeagle (Lamna nasus) Blue shark (Prionace glauca) (2)Large Coastal Sharks Sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) Reef shark (Carcharhinus perezi) Blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) Dusky shark (Carcharhinus obscurus) Spinner shark (Carcharhinus brevipinna) Silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis) Bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) Bignose shark (Carcharhinus altimus) Galapagos shark (Carcharhinus galapagensis) Night shark (Carcharhinus signatus) White shark (Carcharodon carcharias) Basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) Tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) Nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) Lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) Ragged-tooth shark (Odontaspis ferox) Whale shark (Rhincodon typus) Scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) Great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran) Smooth hammerhead (Sphyrna zygaena) (3) Small Coastal Sharks Finetooth shark (Carcharhinus isodon) Blacknose shark (Carcharhinus acronotus) Atlantic sharpnose shark (Rhizoprionodon erraenovae) Caribbean sharpnose shark (Rhizoprionodon porosus) Bonnethead (Sphyrna tiburo) Atlantic angel shark (Squatina dumeril) [PJC]
2. A rapacious, artful person; a sharper. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster]
3. Trickery; fraud; petty rapine; as, to live upon the shark. [Obs.] --South. [1913 Webster]
Basking shark, Liver shark, Nurse shark, Oil shark, Sand shark, Tiger shark, etc. See under Basking, Liver, etc. See also Dogfish, Houndfish, Notidanian, and Tope.
Gray shark, the sand shark.
Hammer-headed shark. See Hammerhead.
Port Jackson shark. See Cestraciont.
Shark barrow, the eggcase of a shark; a sea purse.
Shark ray. Same as Angel fish (a), under Angel.
Thrasher shark or Thresher shark, a large, voracious shark. See Thrasher.
Whale shark, a huge harmless shark (Rhinodon typicus) of the Indian Ocean. It becomes sixty feet or more in length, but has very small teeth. [1913 Webster]