herring

American  

[her-ing] / ˈhɛr ɪŋ /

noun

• herring,
  plural
• herrings
  plural

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 British  

/ ˈhɛrɪŋ /

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

---

herring Idioms  

1. see dead as a doornail (herring); red herring.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• herringlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• herring
  plural
• herrings
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of herring

before 900; Middle English hering, Old English hǣring; cognate with German Häring

---

Explanation

A herring is a small, silver fish. Most herring that's caught for food is prepared by being smoked, salted, or pickled. The majority of herring is caught in the Atlantic, though the fish is found in both the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans. Because it's very high in the famously healthy Omega-3 fats, herring is considered a healthful fish for people to eat. Herrings is also used as bait for catching larger fish. Although the source of the word herring is uncertain, many experts see a link to the Old English har, or "gray."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

herring herrings

The title “You Can See Everything,” taken from a text Holmes sent to Fielder during production, is an obvious red herring.

From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026

The condo may be an issue where she has control, but it may be a red herring.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026

The title might declare itself concerned with the rivals of Amziah King, but they’re a red herring — this is really about the reign of Kateri.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

His much-criticized media attentiveness is a red herring.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

“Well, au revoir, one and all. By the way, Mary, my dear, were you going to take that herring with you?”

From "Mary Poppins" by P. L. Travers

His thematic concepts and narrative red herrings rely on the viewer’s presence.

From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026

Red herrings pop up and disappear, a climactic series of revelations indicates hidden villainy, and every detail feels ho-hum.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026

Certain clues from training have also proved red herrings.

From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2025

Both offer a critique of bedside manner; patients that, seemingly fine, suddenly lose consciousness; red herrings, dead ends and wrong trees to bark up.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2025

Every day he’d bring home three herrings and a loaf of bread — but sometimes the herrings had been dead so long we couldn’t eat ’em.

From "Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village" by Laura Amy Schlitz

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---