shad
Americannoun
plural
shad,plural
shads-
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.
-
any of several unrelated fishes.
noun
-
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
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.
Trials found only one tagged twaite shad came within 30cm of the intake heads, compared to 14 before the system was switched on.
From BBC • Feb. 10, 2026
That might mean a lot of fish getting caught up and clogging the system, including the endangered twaite shad.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025
This leaves no other choice but to impose and enforce greater harvest restrictions to prevent the iconic blue crab from collapsing, as have other mismanaged fisheries including oysters, soft clams, shad and sturgeon.
From Washington Post • Jul. 29, 2022
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
Runs of spawning Atlantic salmon, short- nose sturgeon, striped bass, and American shad annually filled the harbor.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
