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.
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 poor marlin fish must have got a massive headache," she said.
From BBC ● Jan. 11, 2024
Basically it looked like a chair on a deep-sea boat, that you would sit in if you wanted to hunt shark or marlin or sea monsters.
From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan
Pastor Marlin, 57, said the Protestant synod also helps in cases of violence against women and children "if the victims speak up".
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
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
Members of the nearby South End Rowing Club, home of many Bay swimmers, are fascinated with Chonkers and many have popped over to Pier 39 to check him out, said Vanessa Marlin, the club’s president.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
Greenpeace activists boarded the White Marlin ship north of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic in January 2023 and occupied it for 13 days.
From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2024
He heard their squawking and watched them circle low, angling for scraps, while Marlin Teneskold or William Gjovaag shot at them with a side-by-side so that the gulls settled out on the water.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
They also quantified the contrast of the stripes on the two attacking marlins compared to a randomly chosen marlin that wasn't attacking.
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
Fishermen strung huge marlins up by their tails.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 10, 2020
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.
