her·ring

(hĕr′ĭng)

n. pl. herring or her·rings

Any of various silvery fishes of the family Clupeidae, especially the commercially important Clupea harengus of the northern Atlantic Ocean and C. pallasii of the northern Pacific Ocean.

[Middle English hering, from Old English hǣring.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

herring

(ˈhɛrɪŋ)

n, pl -rings or -ring

(Animals) any marine soft-finned teleost fish of the family Clupeidae, esp Clupea harengus, an important food fish of northern seas, having an elongated body covered, except in the head region, with large fragile silvery scales

[Old English hǣring; related to Old High German hāring, Old Frisian hēring, Dutch haring]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

her•ring

(ˈhɛr ɪŋ)

n., pl. (esp. collectively) -ring, (esp. for kinds or species) -rings.

1. an important food fish, Clupea harengus harengus, found in enormous schools in the N Atlantic.

2. a similar fish, Clupea harengus pallasii, of the N Pacific.

3. any fish of the family Clupeidae, including herrings, shads, and sardines.

[before 900; Middle English hering, Old English hǣring, c. Old High German hāring]

her′ring•like`, adj.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	herring - valuable flesh of fatty fish from shallow waters of northern Atlantic or Pacific; usually salted or pickled Clupea harangus, herring - commercially important food fish of northern waters of both Atlantic and Pacific saltwater fish - flesh of fish from the sea used as food kipper, kippered herring - salted and smoked herring bloater - large fatty herring lightly salted and briefly smoked pickled herring - herring preserved in a pickling liquid (usually brine or vinegar) smoked herring, red herring - a dried and smoked herring having a reddish color brisling, sprat - small fatty European fish; usually smoked or canned like sardines whitebait - minnows or other small fresh- or saltwater fish (especially herring); usually cooked whole
	2.	herring - commercially important food fish of northern waters of both Atlantic and Pacific Clupea harangus food fish - any fish used for food by human beings clupeid, clupeid fish - any of numerous soft-finned schooling food fishes of shallow waters of northern seas Clupea, genus Clupea - type genus of the Clupeidae: typical herrings Atlantic herring, Clupea harengus harengus - important food fish; found in enormous shoals in the northern Atlantic Clupea harengus pallasii, Pacific herring - important food fish of the northern Pacific herring - valuable flesh of fatty fish from shallow waters of northern Atlantic or Pacific; usually salted or pickled

herring

noun

Related words
collective nouns shoal, glean
young alevin, brit, sparling

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

سَمَكُ الرَّنـجَةُسَمَك الرَّنْكَه

sleď

sild

sillisilakka

haringasleđ

hering

síld

aringa falsa pista

ニシン

청어

silkė

siļķe

sleď

sleđслеђ

sillströmming

ปลาเฮอริ่ง

ringaringa balığı

оселедець

cá trích

鲱鲱鱼

herring

[ˈherɪŋ]

A. N (herrings or herring (pl)) → arenque m
red herring (fig) → pista f falsa, despiste m

B. CPD herring gull N → gaviota f argéntea
the herring pond N (hum) → el charco
to cross the herring pond → cruzar el charco

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

herring

[ˈhɛrɪŋ] n → hareng m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

herring

n → Hering m ? red herring

herring

herringbone

(= pattern) → Fischgrät m

(Ski) → Grätenschritt m

adj attr herring pattern → Fischgrät(en)muster nt; herring suit → Anzug m → mit Fischgrätmuster

herringbone stitch

n → Hexenstich m

herring gull

n → Silbermöwe f

herring pond

n (hum inf) → großer Teich (hum)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

herring

[ˈhɛrɪŋ] n → aringa

herring

(ˈheriŋ) – plurals ˈherring ~ˈherrings – noun

a small, edible kind of sea fish.

herring

→ سَمَكُ الرَّنـجَةُ sleď sild Hering ρέγγα arenque silli hareng haringa aringa ニシン 청어 haring sild śledź arenque сельдь sill ปลาเฮอริ่ง ringa balığı cá trích 鲱

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

"There be three Herrings loitering around, Longing to share that mossy seat: Each Herring tries to sing what she has found That makes Life seem so sweet.

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The peasant's gossip had been of the hunt, of the bracken, of the gray-headed kites that had nested in Wood Fidley, and of the great catch of herring brought back by the boats of Pitt's Deep.

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Both, says I; and let's have a couple of smoked herring by way of variety.

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The fish were all quite small, generally about the size of a herring, and of every variety.

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"Never a barrel the better herring," cries he, " Noscitur a socio , is a true saying.

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Every one knows that by the peculiar cunning of their gills, the finny tribes in general breathe the air which at all times is combined with the element in which they swim, hence, a herring or a cod might live a century, and never once raise its head above the surface.

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'If he takes it ill, why it'll be a herring across John's tracks, and perhaps all for the best.

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to pack up the first personage of the English revolution like a herring. In your place I would not trust him, chevalier."

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The herring schooled and the fishing village woke to life.

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If a pack can track a trailed herring across a shire, how far can a specially-trained hound follow so pungent a smell as this?

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But this boy could do it--seventy feet I know he cleared in one dive from the rigging--clenched hands on chest, head thrown back, sailing more like a bird, upward and out, and out and down, body flat on the air so that if it struck the surface in that position it would be split in half like a herring. But the moment before the water is reached, the head drops forward, the hands go out and lock the arms in an arch in advance of the head, and the body curves gracefully downward and enters the water just right.

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In this way, too, she used to catch herrings on Tuesdays and Fridays--when everybody on the boat ate fish to make the beef last longer.

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