alec
noun
a herring.
alec
1 American
[al-ik]
/ ˈæl ɪk /
noun
Obsolete.
-
a herring.
-
a sauce or relish made from small herring or anchovies.
alec
2
American
[al-ik]
/ ˈæl ɪk /
noun
Australian.
Alec
3
American
[al-ik]
/ ˈæl ɪk /
Or
Aleck
noun
Etymology
Origin of alec1
1510–20; < Latin ( h ) al ( l ) ec fish sauce
Origin of alec2
1920–25; cf. smart aleck ( def. ); sense shift perhaps originally from ironic usage
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Sometimes Alex is a smart alec: the chapter sending up his academy school and peer group reads like the revenge of the nerd.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 15, 2013
Obviously a smart alec statement, insinuating that Mooney talked for publicity's sake alone, instead of for a cause in which he sincerely believes.
From Time Magazine Archive
Seneca reproaches them with this refinement of cruelty—“Oculis quoque gulosi sunt;” and the most renowned of Apicius’s culinary discoveries was the alec, a compound of their livers.
From Curiosities of Medical Experience by J. G. (John Gideon) Millingen
Hootsey could not be sure if Nibbles was being a "smart alec" or was just paying him a complement.
From The Forest Monster of Oz by Bob Evans
Leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council Alec Brown said people were frightened and the council's "fundamental" priority was for them to feel safe in their homes.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
Alec Ginsberg, a fourth-generation pharmacist who owns C.O.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Alec Neel Vance joins the Vances’ three other young children: Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
She starred in films alongside Alec Guinness, Fred Astaire and Peter O'Toole and appeared in musicals in New York and London.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
“A wise decision, at least for the time being,” said Alec.
From "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
