shad

[ shad ]

/ ʃæd /

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noun, plural (especially collectively) shad, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) shads.

a deep-bodied herring, Alosa sapidissima, of Europe and North America, that migrates up streams to spawn, used for food.

any other fish of the genus Alosa or related genera.

any of several unrelated fishes.

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Origin of shad

before 1050; Old English sceadd (not recorded in ME)

Words nearby shad

Shackleton, shacko, shack-tapping, shackup, shacky, shad, shadberry, Shadbolt, shadbush, shadchan, Shaddai

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

How to use shad in a sentence

Shad roe is such a fleeting seasonal delicacy, so rich and full of flavor.
Fresh Picks|Ben Pollinger|February 10, 2011|DAILY BEAST
I'll tell him you never tasted planked shad nor saw one cooked, and he'll just spread himself.
Dorothy at Skyrie|Evelyn Raymond
I don't feel now any great longing even for planked shad—such a dinner I ate!
Dorothy at Skyrie|Evelyn Raymond
At night we were up to Elliott's Key, and anchored by making fast to a sweep shoved into the muddy bottom like a shad-pole.
Famous Adventures And Prison Escapes of the Civil War|Various

If ye think th' highest jooty iv citizenship is to raise a fam'ly why don't ye give a vote to th' shad?
Mr. Dooley Says|Finley Dunne
"Below for us," said the Tennessee Shad, pushing his way forward.
The Varmint|Owen Johnson

British Dictionary definitions for shad

shad

/ (ʃæd) /

noun plural shad or shads

any of various herring-like food fishes of the genus Alosa and related genera, such as A. alosa (allis shad) of Europe, that migrate from the sea to freshwater to spawn: family Clupeidae (herrings)

any of various similar but unrelated fishes

Word Origin for shad

Old English sceadd; related to Norwegian skadd, German Schade shad, Old Irish scatān herring, Latin scatēre to well up

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