sprat
Americannoun
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sprats,
plural
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sprat
plural
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a species of herring, Clupea sprattus, of the eastern North Atlantic.
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a small or inconsequential person or thing.
noun
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a small marine food fish, Clupea sprattus, of the NE Atlantic Ocean and North Sea: family Clupeidae (herrings) See also brisling
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any of various small or young herrings
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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 cf. sprag 2); akin to Old English spryttan to sprout
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 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 ● Mar. 20, 2024
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 ● Apr. 10, 2023
The frigate was determined to steal the tern’s meal, the tern equally determined not to part with its hard-earned sprat.
From New York Times ● Oct. 8, 2015
Researchers can spend years unpicking the factors that control the numbers of Maine lobster, or sprat in the Baltic Sea.
From Nature ● Mar. 16, 2015
Our picturesque declaration that it is sometimes advisable to "Throw away a sprat to catch a herring," loses somewhat in "Il faut hazarder un petit poisson pour prendre un grand."
From Proverb Lore Many sayings, wise or otherwise, on many subjects, gleaned from many sources by F. Edward (Frederick Edward) Hulme
An illustration shows a Buster Keaton-eyed puffin with a beakful of sardines or sprats.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
The Bristol Channel is home to salmon, eels, herring, sprats, and dozens of protected marine species.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2024
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 ● May 16, 2022
Herrings, sprats, eels, oysters, mussels, cockles and whelks, were all popular, as were cod and haddock.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2016
The old fishermen in the north say that "sprats" are the fry of the herring.
From Blacker's Art of Fly Making, &c. Comprising Angling, & Dyeing of Colours, with Engravings of Salmon & Trout Flies by William Blacker
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