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

  1. any of various similar fishes, as the Atka mackerel.

Origin of mackerel

1
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

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How to use mackerel in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mackerel

mackerel

/ (ˈmækrəl) /


nounplural -rel or -rels
  1. 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)

  2. any of various other fishes of the family Scombridae, such as Scomber colias (Spanish mackerel) and S. japonicus (Pacific mackerel)

Origin of mackerel

1
C13: from Anglo-French, from Old French maquerel, of unknown origin

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