mackerel
Americannoun
plural
mackerel,plural
mackerels-
a food fish, Scomber scombrus, of the North Atlantic, having wavy cross markings on the back.
-
any of various similar fishes, as the Atka mackerel.
noun
-
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
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any of various other fishes of the family Scombridae, such as Scomber colias (Spanish mackerel) and S. japonicus (Pacific mackerel)
Etymology
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 -er 1
Compare meaning
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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.
She has cultivated a down-to-earth image, posting photos on social media of her meal of tinned mackerel on rye bread and cleaning windows at home.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
Wildlife already appears on banknotes in the UK, with mackerel, otters, red squirrels and osprey featuring on notes issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland.
From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026
Waitrose said it was the first UK supermarket to suspend mackerel sales, adding it would only start restocking the fish "once it meets our high sourcing standards".
From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026
From nearly 13 million tons in 2014, the biomass of spawning-age mackerel has plummeted to less than 3 million tons in 2025.
From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026
And he dawdled as the clouds turned their mackerel undersides to him and the cool of the late afternoon started to settle in over the town.
From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt
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.
