bottom-feeder

Seabed foraging creature

A bottom-feeder is a fish or other aquatic creature that feeds on material at the bottom of a body of water—catfish, carp, lobsters.

The term extends disparagingly to people who profit from others' misfortune or operate at the lowest level of a hierarchy: Bottom-feeders bought up foreclosed homes for pennies on the dollar.

The implication is of scavenging what others have discarded or feeding off the vulnerable.

opportunist

vulture

Carrion-eating raptor

bloodsucker · user · manipulator · speculator · mercenary · hanger-on · self-seeker · bargain-hunter

scavenger

hyena

Cackling African carnivore

raccoon · seagull · magpie · earthworm · dung-beetle · detritivore · decomposer · scrounger · forager · picker

derogatory

lowlife

Disreputable, despicable person

  • scumSurface residue or lowlifes
  • parasiteOne exploiting a host
  • leechBlood-feeding aquatic worm

sleazebag · deadbeat · freeloader · low-life · vermin · loser · reject · undesirable · degenerate · miscreant

aquatic

catfish

Barbeled freshwater bottom-feeder

  • carpWhine about trivialities
  • flounderStruggle awkwardly, or seafood
  • soleFoot's bottom surface

halibut · stingray · grouper · haddock · lobster · crab · shrimp · crayfish · remora · starfish

Opposites
ecological position

bottom-feederfilter feeder

Animal straining waterborne nutrients

moral character (figurative)

bottom-feederaltruist

Selfless benefactor of others

philanthropist · benefactor · do-gooder · humanitarian · saint

social status/quality

bottom-feederelite

Superior select group

top dog · cream of the crop · big fish · high roller · A-lister

Family

feed, bottom, feeding, bottoms, feeder, bottomless, feeds, feeders, bottomed

Familiarity
Top 200,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Negative · Everyday, not technical · Rated PG