Word.ws English Dictionary

copi

copi noun: asian carp.

Noun (1)

copi (plural copi)

  1. (chiefly Illinois) Asian carp
    • Now imagine if copi becomes the new tuna or tilapia or shrimp. Skyrocketing demand could encourage a surge in fishing, which in turn could help restore some semblance of ecological balance in rivers up and down the Mississippi watershed.2022 June 22, Patti Wetli, “Introducing Copi, the Fish Formerly Known as Asian Carp”, in WTTW
    • You’re in the mood for fish and your server suggests a dish of invasive carp. Ugh, you might say. But how about broiled copi, fresh from the Mississippi River?2022 June 22, John Flesher, “A ‘copi’ fillet? Illinois hopes new name for ‘invasive carp’ will convince diners”, in PBS

Noun (2) capitalized: Copi

Copi (plural Copis)

  1. (neologism) Another name for Asian carp.
    • "Copi is a great name: Short, crisp and easy to say. What diner won't be intrigued when they read Copi tacos or Copi burgers on a menu?"2022 June 22, Jelisa Castrodale, quoting Colleen Callahan, “What Is Copi? A New Name for an Invasive Fish”, in Food&Wine

Examples of copi in a sentence

  • That may as well be the new battle cry for Illinois fishery managers trying to rebrand four invasive species of Asian carp as copi.2022 July 1, Chris Bentley, “If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em: Illinois fisheries rebrand the invasive Asian carp”, in WBUR:
  • It’s “copi,” short for “copious,” which the fish certainly are in Illinois’s waterways.2022 August 14, Christian Elliot, “This Invasive Fish Got an Anti-Racist Rebrand”, in Sierra:

Forms of copi

pluralcopi
pluralCopis

Plural of copi: copi

Origin of copi

Clipping of copious, Coined by Illinois Department of Natural Resources in 2022 in reference of the abundance of Asian carp as well as to give it a less racist name.

By shortening of Copious, coined in 2022 by Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Questions about copi

What does copi mean?
Copi means asian carp.
How do you use copi in a sentence?
That may as well be the new battle cry for Illinois fishery managers trying to rebrand four invasive species of Asian carp as copi.
What part of speech is copi?
Copi is a noun.
What is the plural of copi?
The plural of copi is copi.

Words near copi in the dictionary

  1. cophyline
  2. cophylines
  3. cophylogenetic
  4. cophylogenies
  5. cophylogeny
  6. copi
  7. copiability
  8. copiable
  9. Copiague
  10. Copiah County
  11. copiapite

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: copi (page history and authors); Copi (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “copi.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/copi. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.