(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.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
After sneaking into Wakanda in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Marvel’s merman demigod Namor emerges from the water in the darkness.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 28, 2022
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
One guy was a merman with two fish tails instead of one.
From "The Last Olympian" 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.
