The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word DOLPHIN
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
D
O
L
P
H
I
N
More clues leading to the result DOLPHIN
- Marine creature in hold at sea retains power
- Intelligent swimmer working on DPhil
- DPhil with no struggling? One’s intelligent, apparently
- Phil bumped into fellow swimmer
- Teacher keeping record on Hawaii identifying marine mammal
- Sea-creature in hold moving around quietly
- Party with measure of acid nothing to be upset about? One jumps in the water laughing
- Creature at sea, old, injured flipper, we’re told
- Creature in hold knocked out, keeping quiet
- Copper coming up with less than helpful suggestion for swimmer
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Intelligent/ swimmer" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case intelligent/ swimmer = dolphin.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does DOLPHIN mean?
DOLPHIN noun- A carnivorous aquatic mammal in one of several families of order Cetacea, famed for its intelligence and occasional willingness to approach humans.
- A fish, the mahi-mahi or dorado, Coryphaena hippurus, with a dorsal fin that runs the length of the body, also known for iridescent coloration.
- A depiction of a fish, with a broad indented fin, usually embowed.
- The dauphin, eldest son of the kings of France.
- (history) A mass of iron or lead hung from the yardarm, in readiness to be dropped through the deck and the hull of an enemy's vessel to sink it.
- A kind of wreath or strap of plaited cordage.
- A spar or buoy held by an anchor and furnished with a ring to which ships may fasten their cables.
- A mooring post on a wharf or beach.
- A permanent fender around a heavy boat just below the gunwale.
- One of the handles above the trunnions by which a gun was lifted.
- A man-made semi submerged maritime structure, usually installed to provide a fixed structure for temporary mooring, to prevent ships from drifting to shallow water or to serve as base for navigational aids.