herring

American  

[her-ing] / ˈhɛr ɪŋ /

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.

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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

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herring Idioms  

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

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Other Word Forms

• herringlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of herring

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

Example Sentences

Rather than seeking common ground, Sacks calls criticism "a red herring" from AI doomers "who want all progress to stop."

From Barron's

Prof Dreze says the increase to 125 guaranteed workdays per household may sound like a major revamp, but is a "red herring".

From BBC

Cardenas, noting that all the contributions he receives from those who come before the board are fully disclosed, calls the issue a red herring.

From The Wall Street Journal

Johnson pledges his devotion to tropes like cawing ravens and thunderous rainstorms while giving his various red herrings silly nicknames like “the knife robot” and “the clangy clunk.”

From Los Angeles Times

“It would take a miracle to find decent caviar in this primitive land,” he remarked on his way out, “but a plate of smoked herring would do nicely in a pinch.”

From Literature