1915–20, short for marlinespike
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
His passion is fishing — Bagby dreams of reeling in a deep-sea marlin — but no hobby can nourish his soul as much as helping others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2025
"We already have footage of hunting behavior of sailfish and mahi mahi where we have seen even more pronounced and more variable color change than in the marlin," Burns says.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 26, 2024
For decades, Wild Oceans focused its efforts on tuna, marlin, swordfish, and sharks—in other words, big fish.
From Slate ● Feb. 4, 2024
The women, known as the Vibe the Wave team, said the marlin had put three holes in the boat.
From BBC ● Jan. 11, 2024
One hundred fathoms down a marlin was eating the sardines that covered the point and the shank of the hook where the hand-forged hook projected from the head of the small tuna.
From "The Old Man and The Sea" by Ernest Hemingway
Without fail, the miniature version of me would blubber at Sully the polka dot monster reuniting with Boo, and Marlin the clownfish traversing the ocean to find his son.
From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2026
Members of the nearby South End Rowing Club, home of many Bay swimmers, are fascinated with Chonkers and many have popped over to Pier 39 to check him out, said Vanessa Marlin, the club’s president.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
Drew Greenblatt, president of Baltimore-based metal product manufacturer Marlin Steel, worries however that Friday's court ruling was "a setback" for the United States.
From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026
The same company's fleet includes the oil tanker Marlin Luanda, which was damaged by a missile on Saturday.
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2024
He heard their squawking and watched them circle low, angling for scraps, while Marlin Teneskold or William Gjovaag shot at them with a side-by-side so that the gulls settled out on the water.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
They also quantified the contrast of the stripes on the two attacking marlins compared to a randomly chosen marlin that wasn't attacking.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 26, 2024
Huge marlins were a bit disconcerting, Harrison admits, since the team had heard the fish had a proclivity for trying to poke holes in boats with their spearlike bills.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 23, 2022
Male marlins generally stop growing at 250-300lb, so sportfishing tournaments usually bring in large female fish.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 10, 2020
Salvay tried to explain the head-shaking odds of two check-chasing marlins being, for tournament purposes, the same.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 2019
Fish gathered to look at us—a school of barracudas, some curious marlins.
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
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.
