merman
noun
(in folklore) a male marine creature, having the head, torso, and arms of a man and the tail of a fish.
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merman
1 American
[mur-man]
/ ˈmɜrˌmæn /
noun
-
mermen
plural
-
(in folklore) a male marine creature, having the head, torso, and arms of a man and the tail of a fish.
-
a highly skilled male swimmer.
Merman
2
American
[mur-muhn]
/ ˈmɜr mən /
noun
merman
British
/ ˈmɜːˌmæn /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of merman
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:
Louie’s face appears on a merman swimming near a shipwreck.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 7, 2025
But the first mermaid that comes into focus doesn’t so much evoke wonder as it does a flashback of Ben Stiller’s merman in “Zoolander.”
From Washington Times ● May 23, 2023
One merman even ventured into a local tavern, where he splayed himself out atop the bar, puffing a long cigarette.
From Slate ● Jan. 24, 2020
Then, the truth emerges: Theo is a merman.
From New York Times ● Apr. 26, 2018
His jaw dropped even farther when he saw the life-size merman hanging by its tail from a Woody hook and chain in the ceiling near the staircase.
From "Confessions of a Murder Suspect" by James Patterson
Ethel Merman picked up a wine glass and gently squeezed the top.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 1, 2026
While still in her teens, Squibb began performing in theaters in St. Louis and Cleveland before moving to New York, where she made her Broadway debut in “Gypsy” alongside Ethel Merman in 1959.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2024
Jerry Zucker: In terms of Ethel Merman and Barbara Billingsley, we thought of a joke: "What if someone said he thinks he's Ethel Merman, and it was her?"
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2023
Floating in the Sacramento pool where fellow attendees of the California convention had gathered, Merman Maui summed up the importance of the community this way: “I have a new family with all these people.”
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 22, 2022
“I don’t know, either. Ethel Merman sings it.”
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Ariel, played by Halle Bailey, is Black and hails from a mixed-race family of mermaids and mermen.
From Washington Times ● May 25, 2023
The mermen began to appear in the summer of 2017, in St. John’s, Newfoundland, a provincial fishing town roughly midway between Montreal and Greenland.
From Slate ● Jan. 24, 2020
The TV production stars what appear to be very young versions of mermaids and mermen in stories that teach basic math, reading and social skills.
From New York Times ● Apr. 12, 2018
Dive Bar’s 40-foot-long aquarium, located above the main bar, holds 7,500 gallons of saltwater, 60-some tropical fish and, on occasion, mermaids and mermen.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 14, 2018
Half a dozen mermen were pulling him away from Hermione, shaking their green-haired heads, and laughing.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
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.
