shad
Americannoun
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shad,
plural
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shads
plural
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a deep-bodied herring, Alosa sapidissima, of Europe and North America, that migrates up streams to spawn, used for food.
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any other fish of the genus Alosa or related genera.
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any of several unrelated fishes.
noun
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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)
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any of various similar but unrelated fishes
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of shad
before 1050; Old English sceadd (not recorded in ME)
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:
The Severn Estuary is home to huge numbers of sprats and salmon, and the twaite shad, a protected migrating species which spawns in the tributaries of the River Severn.
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2026
“It’s not straightforward,” says David Clarke, a fisheries expert at Swansea University who was funded by EDF to monitor high-frequency beeps fired at tagged shad to see if they swam away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
The eaglets’ parents are bringing them plenty of food — usually shad, koi or catfish; and sometimes the occasional squirrel or groundhog — Greeley said.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 5, 2023
But an emerging threat becomes evident in early June as Friesen hauls up minnow traps and gillnets packed with carp, gizzard shad, green sunfish and, ominously, three smallmouth bass.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 14, 2022
All the rough-fish population of these waters was destroyed also — the carp, buffalo, drum, gizzard shad, and catfish.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Catfish are good on cut shads, earthworms and punchbaits.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 16, 2020
With regard to successful lures, try medium dive cranks bumping the bottom; citrus shads, gooseberry livers, watermelon reds, green pumpkins, dark greens, and silver “Perfect” in artificial lizards and worms.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 18, 2020
White bass are fair on drop shot and spinner tail shads sticking to deep water structure.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 8, 2020
Sand Trout are being caught with live shrimp and glow shads.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 13, 2019
I peer in the chicken shads and the pigpens.
From "The Unfinished Angel" by Sharon Creech
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.
