sprat

American  

[sprat] / spræt /

noun

plural

sprats,

plural

sprat

1. a species of herring, Clupea sprattus, of the eastern North Atlantic.

2. a small or inconsequential person or thing.

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sprat British  

/ spræt /

noun

1. a small marine food fish, Clupea sprattus, of the NE Atlantic Ocean and North Sea: family Clupeidae (herrings) See also brisling

2. any of various small or young herrings

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Etymology

Origin of sprat

1590–1600; variant of earlier sprot, Middle English, Old English (cognate with German Sprott ); apparently same word as Old English sprott sprout, twig (for the two meanings sprag ² ); akin to Old English spryttan to sprout

Example Sentences

The Bristol Channel is home to salmon, eels, herring, sprats, and dozens of protected marine species.

From BBC

The wild fish studied included Pacific and Peruvian anchoveta, and Atlantic herring, mackerel, sprat and blue whiting -- which are all marketed and consumed as seafood.

From Science Daily

In their flat, over a pile of sprat sandwiches, she explains that her eldest son is still in Ukraine expecting to be called up to fight any day.

From BBC

He added that minke whales feed on sand eels, sprat, young herring, other "shoaling small fishes" and zooplankton and there "must be good food for this animal to bring it into this area".

From BBC

It can also be made with salt-cured fish, and modern cooks often use sprats in tomato sauce, a popular pantry staple of tiny herring canned in a purée that tastes a bit like cocktail sauce.

From New York Times