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herring

[her-ing]

noun

plural

herring 
,

plural

herrings .
  1. an important food fish, Clupea harengus harengus, found in enormous shoals in the North Atlantic.

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

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

  4. any of various fishes resembling the herring but of unrelated families.



herring

/ ˈɛɪŋ /

noun

  1. 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

“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
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Other Word Forms

  • herringlike adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of herring1

before 900; Middle English hering, Old English ǣԲ; cognate with German äԲ
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Word History and Origins

Origin of herring1

Old English ǣԲ; related to Old High German Բ, Old Frisian ŧԲ, Dutch haring
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Idioms and Phrases

see dead as a doornail (herring); red herring.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“The cost shift narrative is a red herring,” argued plaintiff’s attorney Malinda Dickenson, representing the Center for Biological Diversity, the Environmental Working Group and the Protect Our Communities Foundation.

From

Thanks to the food chain, it seems, the creation dimethyl sulfide can take place not just in the surface layer of the ocean, but inside herring guts as well.

From

In reality "growth is a bit of a red herring here", says Mr Menon.

From

But he also says it's a "red herring" to focus on the headline increase in the Sovereign Grant, when that figure has been driven by work to preserve Buckingham Palace, rather than underlying running costs.

From

Known in Sweden as Valborg, university students gather in the city for champagne breakfasts, herring lunches and a raft race on the river.

From

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