mackerel

[ mak-er-uhl, mak-ruhl ]

/ ˈmæk ər əl, ˈmæk rəl /

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noun, plural (especially collectively) mack·er·el, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) mack·er·els.

a food fish, Scomber scombrus, of the North Atlantic, having wavy cross markings on the back.

any of various similar fishes, as the Atka mackerel.

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Origin of mackerel

1250–1300; Middle English <Old French, perhaps same word as Middle French maquerel pimp <Middle Dutch makelare broker (by metathesis), equivalent to makel(en) to bring together + -are-er¹

Words nearby mackerel

Mackellar, Mackem, Mackensen, Mackenzie, Mackenzie Mountains, mackerel, mackerel breeze, mackerel gull, mackerel shark, mackerel sky, Mackerras

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use mackerel in a sentence

He was wearing a dress to get back in the rumbles with the rich mackerel-snappers who went to all-boys St. Francis Assisi.
Toledo: The Town Too Tough for Toxic Water|P. J. O’Rourke|August 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Kelvin remembered wrapping mackerel in them and eating them wild with seasoning.
Uncovering the Secrets of St. Kitts|Debra A. Klein|June 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The "Kingfish" popularized the catch phrase "Holy Mackerel!"
Herman Cain’s Failure to Be a ‘MackDaddy’ Killed His Campaign|Mansfield Frazier|December 4, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Mayo does advise that pregnant women avoid swordfish, king mackerel, shark, and tile fish.
Jeremy Piven's Fishy Excuse|Amanda Fortini|January 15, 2009|DAILY BEAST

Not far away from the sloop could be seen plainly that tiny chop-sea which is caused by the breaking of a school of mackerel.
The Rival Campers|Ruel Perley Smith
The mackerel bit fiercely, sometimes at the bare hook even, like fish gone crazy.
The Rival Campers|Ruel Perley Smith
There are an extensive mackerel and herring fishery, and motor engineering works.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various
Legislators will be bought like mackerel in the market, as Mr. Lawson so bluntly expresses it.
The Common Sense of Socialism|John Spargo
Or you may broil the mackerel whole, having first seasoned it as above, and wrapped it in oiled paper.
Domestic French Cookery, 4th ed.|Sulpice Baru

British Dictionary definitions for mackerel

mackerel

/ (ˈmækrəl) /

noun plural -rel or -rels

a spiny-finned food fish, Scomber scombrus, occurring in northern coastal regions of the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean: family Scombridae. It has a deeply forked tail and a greenish-blue body marked with wavy dark bands on the backCompare Spanish mackerel (def. 1)

any of various other fishes of the family Scombridae, such as Scomber colias (Spanish mackerel) and S. japonicus (Pacific mackerel)

See horse mackerel

Word Origin for mackerel

C13: from Anglo-French, from Old French maquerel, of unknown origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012