marlin
noun
any large, saltwater game fish of the genera Makaira and Tetrapterus, having the upper jaw elongated into a spearlike structure.
marlin
1 American
[mahr-lin]
/ ˈmɑr lɪn /
noun
-
marlin,
plural
-
marlins
plural
Marlin
2
American
[mahr-lin]
/ ˈmɑr lɪn /
noun
marlin
British
/ ˈmɑːlɪn /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of marlin
1915–20, short for marlinespike
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.
See Examples For:
It had been a productive two weeks for La Negra Francisca Duarte II, which was returning to port with 3 tons of precious catch — mostly tuna, swordfish, marlin and shark.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
When hunting in groups, individual marlin will take turns attacking schools of prey fish one at a time.
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 women, known as the Vibe the Wave team, said the marlin had put three holes in the boat.
From BBC ● Jan. 11, 2024
When he tried to rein him in, the horse bolted, thrashing around like a hooked marlin.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Without fail, the miniature version of me would blubber at Sully the polka dot monster reuniting with Boo, and Marlin the clownfish traversing the ocean to find his son.
From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2026
Had it been a Steller, the boat would have capsized, Marlin said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
Drew Greenblatt, president of Baltimore-based metal product manufacturer Marlin Steel, worries however that Friday's court ruling was "a setback" for the United States.
From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026
Former AL batting champion Tim Anderson, who signed a one-year deal with Miami in the offseason, had an RBI double in his first at-bat as a Marlin.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 28, 2024
At the time of the hurricane, Marlin Gusman, sheriff of Orleans parish, knew that there was a chance that the Orleans Parish Prison, where most offenders were kept while awaiting trial, would flood.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
As they examined the video footage they'd captured via drone, they noticed something unexpected: the stripes on individual marlins got obviously brighter as a fish moved in for an attack.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 26, 2024
Huge marlins were a bit disconcerting, Harrison admits, since the team had heard the fish had a proclivity for trying to poke holes in boats with their spearlike bills.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 23, 2022
The sailors have enjoyed seeing dolphins, turtles and marlins and, for three weeks, they did not see another boat.
From BBC ● May 1, 2021
Salvay tried to explain the head-shaking odds of two check-chasing marlins being, for tournament purposes, the same.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 2019
Fish gathered to look at us—a school of barracudas, some curious marlins.
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
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.
