1915–20, short for marlinespike
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
His passion is fishing — Bagby dreams of reeling in a deep-sea marlin — but no hobby can nourish his soul as much as helping others.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2025
At the Oistins Fish Market in Bridgetown, flying fish are still available, along with marlin, mahi-mahi and tuna, though only a handful of stalls are open.
From BBC • Dec. 29, 2024
"We already have footage of hunting behavior of sailfish and mahi mahi where we have seen even more pronounced and more variable color change than in the marlin," Burns says.
From Science Daily • Feb. 26, 2024
For decades, Wild Oceans focused its efforts on tuna, marlin, swordfish, and sharks—in other words, big fish.
From Slate • Feb. 4, 2024
The gleaming sportfisherman was tied stem-first to a wooden dock, where a monster blue marlin hung glassyeyed from a tall pole.
From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen
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.
