white perch

American  

noun

1. a small game fish, Morone americana, greenish-gray above and silvery below, inhabiting streams along the Atlantic coast of the United States.

2. freshwater drum.

3. silver perch.

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Etymology

Origin of white perch

An Americanism dating back to 1765–75

Compare meaning

How does white-perch compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• white perch vs. white bass

Example Sentences

He welcomed the timing of the settlement, which comes as many species of critical environmental and commercial importance to the region — such as rockfish, shad, herring and white perch — begin to spawn.

From Washington Post • Apr. 20, 2023

They walked up to the water, cast their lines in hopes of luring brim or white perch, then Henderson told Ellington he needed to tell him something important.

From New York Times • Sep. 7, 2021

The populations of American shad and white perch are well over target; installation of a fish ladder in 2000 and other measures are paying off.

From Washington Post • Mar. 30, 2018

More than 500 Atlantic salmon have made the trip, along with nearly two million alewives, countless baby eels, thousands of mature sea lamprey and dozens of white perch and brook trout.

From New York Times • Oct. 24, 2016

Maine, Thursday, July 20, 1837.—A drive, yesterday afternoon, to a pond in the vicinity of Augusta, about nine miles off, to fish for white perch.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 17, No. 101, March, 1866 by Various