mackerel

[ mak-er-uhl, mak-ruhl ]

noun,plural (especially collectively) mack·er·el, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) mack·er·els.

a food fish, Scomber scombrus, of the North Atlantic, having wavy cross markings on the back.
Spanish mackerel.

any of various similar fishes, as the Atka mackerel.

Compare Meanings

Click for a side-by-side comparison of meanings. Use the word comparison feature to learn the differences between similar and commonly confused words.

Origin of mackerel

1250–1300; Middle English <Old French, perhaps same word as Middle French maquerel pimp <Middle Dutch makelare broker (by metathesis), equivalent to makel(en) to bring together + -are-er¹

Words Nearby mackerel

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use mackerel in a sentence

He was wearing a dress to get back in the rumbles with the rich mackerel-snappers who went to all-boys St. Francis Assisi.
Toledo: The Town Too Tough for Toxic Water | P. J. O’Rourke | August 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Kelvin remembered wrapping mackerel in them and eating them wild with seasoning.
Uncovering the Secrets of St. Kitts | Debra A. Klein | June 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The "Kingfish" popularized the catch phrase "Holy mackerel!"
Herman Cain’s Failure to Be a ‘MackDaddy’ Killed His Campaign | Mansfield Frazier | December 4, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
Mayo does advise that pregnant women avoid swordfish, king mackerel, shark, and tile fish.
Jeremy Piven's Fishy Excuse | Amanda Fortini | January 15, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
Not far away from the sloop could be seen plainly that tiny chop-sea which is caused by the breaking of a school of mackerel.
The Rival Campers | Ruel Perley Smith

The mackerel bit fiercely, sometimes at the bare hook even, like fish gone crazy.
The Rival Campers | Ruel Perley Smith
There are an extensive mackerel and herring fishery, and motor engineering works.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3 | Various
Legislators will be bought like mackerel in the market, as Mr. Lawson so bluntly expresses it.
The Common Sense of Socialism | John Spargo
Or you may broil the mackerel whole, having first seasoned it as above, and wrapped it in oiled paper.
Domestic French Cookery, 4th ed. | Sulpice Baru

British Dictionary definitions for mackerel

mackerel

/ (ˈmækrəl) /

nounplural -rel or -rels

a spiny-finned food fish, Scomber scombrus, occurring in northern coastal regions of the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean: family Scombridae. It has a deeply forked tail and a greenish-blue body marked with wavy dark bands on the back: Compare Spanish mackerel (def. 1)
any of various other fishes of the family Scombridae, such as Scomber colias (Spanish mackerel) and S. japonicus (Pacific mackerel)

Origin of mackerel

C13: from Anglo-French, from Old French maquerel, of unknown origin

See horse mackerel

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

Browse