mako

American  

[mey-koh, mah-] / ˈmeɪ koʊ, ˈmɑ- /

noun

plural

makos

1. a powerful mackerel shark, Isurus oxyrinchus, of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

---

mako ¹ British  

/ ˈmɑːkəʊ /

noun

1. any shark of the genus Isurus, esp I. glaucus of Indo-Pacific and Australian seas: family Isuridae

2. the teeth of the mako worn as a decoration by early Māoris

---

mako ² British  

/ ˈmɑːkəʊˌmɑːkəʊ, ˈmɑːkəʊ /

noun

1. Also called: wineberry.  a small evergreen New Zealand tree, Aristotelia serrata: family Elaeocarpaceae

2. another name for bellbird

---

Etymology

Origin of mako

Borrowed into English from Maori around 1720–30

Example Sentences

“A few years ago there was a pesky mako shark that kept circling in on a few paddlers,” Gair recalled, “but it just lost interest eventually and turned away.”

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 2, 2023

Shortfin mako was found in U.S. pet food, according to a 2019 study.

From National Geographic • Jul. 17, 2023

Brazil's environmental protection agency, Ibama, estimated that approximately 11,000 blue sharks and shortfin mako sharks were killed to make up a haul of that size.

From BBC • Jun. 20, 2023

But the observation came back to him around 2011, when he was tracking blue and shortfin mako sharks traversing the eastern side of the Atlantic Ocean.

From Science Magazine • Feb. 1, 2023

The sea horse and the mako shark whisked off and started playing something that looked like tag.

From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan