purse seine


noun
  1. a large seine, for use generally by two boats, that is drawn around a school of fish and then closed at the bottom by means of a line passing through rings attached along the lower edge of the net.

  2. a technique of fishing that utilizes a purse seine to capture large schools of fish, especially tuna.

Origin of purse seine

1
An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

Words Nearby purse seine

Other definitions for purse-seine (2 of 2)

purse-seine
[ purs-seyn ]

verb (used without object),purse-seined, purse-sein·ing.
  1. to fish using a purse seine.

Other words from purse-seine

  • purse seiner, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use purse seine in a sentence

  • The gill-netters hung on the seiner's heels, because where the purse seine could get a haul so could they.

    Poor Man's Rock | Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • I've seen something like this once, when a purse-seine was hauled.

    Creatures of the Abyss | Murray Leinster
  • The light, once used for night purse seine fishing, was powered by a carbon arc.

    Smugglers' Reef | John Blaine
  • But at last he grew accustomed to the tall immovable stakes in the channel which supported the purse-seine.

    Neighbors Unknown | Charles G. D. Roberts

British Dictionary definitions for purse seine

purse seine

noun
  1. a large net towed, usually by two boats, that encloses a school of fish and is then closed at the bottom by means of a line resembling the string formerly used to draw shut the neck of a money pouch or purse

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012