merino
Americannoun
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(often initial capital letter) one of a breed of sheep, raised originally in Spain, valued for their fine wool.
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wool from such sheep.
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a yarn or fabric made from this wool.
adjective
noun
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a breed of sheep, originating in Spain, bred for their fleece
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the long fine wool of this sheep
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the yarn made from this wool, often mixed with cotton
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informal
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history a free settler rather than a convict
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an affluent and socially prominent person
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( as modifier )
a pure merino cricketer
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adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of merino
1775–85; < Spanish < Arabic ( banū ) marīn a Berber tribe known for raising this breed
Vocabulary lists containing merino
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:
If you haven’t heard of Allbirds, picture the first time you learned that merino wool is surprisingly soft and breathable for socks.
From Barron's ● Apr. 16, 2026
Its Wool Runner shoe, made from merino wool, helped draw attention on social media.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 31, 2026
“If I were in charge of RFK Jr. I would put him in a nice merino jogger to do his exercise in,” Giri said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
Livestock from Argentina, Iceland, Norway, and more produce distinctly varied types of wool, from merino to lambswool, cashmere to mohair.
From Slate ● Sep. 2, 2025
The pastures, a lush new green, were dotted with merino sheep and fat milk cows.
From "Lyddie" by Katherine Paterson
“The lambs appear to display the body wrinkle that was common in merinos in the middle of last century, a feature originally selected to maximise skin surface area and wool yields.”
From The Guardian ● Mar. 18, 2019
It races past nickel, lead and gold mines, flocks of fleecy merinos, smelters, slag heaps, ports and forests.
From Time Magazine Archive
They wearied James Houghton with their demand for common zephyrs, for red flannel which they would scallop with black worsted, for black alpacas and bombazines and merinos.
From The Lost Girl by Lawrence, D. H. (David Herbert)
Plaids, checks and bars, bright blues, crude violets and hideous crimsons, were seen in French merinos, Irish poplins and English alpacas.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 4 "Coquelin" to "Costume" by Various
Other breeds—hybrids of Southdowns, merinos, and other stock—were also in good condition, and fair in size.
From Handbook to the new Gold-fields by Ballantyne, R. M. (Robert Michael)
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.
