whitebait

American  

[hwahyt-beyt, wahyt-] / ˈʰwaɪtˌbeɪt, ˈwaɪt- /

noun

plural

whitebait

1. a young sprat or herring.

2. Cooking. any small, delicate fish cooked whole without being cleaned, especially the sprat.

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whitebait British  

/ ˈwaɪtˌbeɪt /

noun

1. the young of herrings, sprats, etc, cooked and eaten whole as a delicacy

2. any of various small silvery fishes, such as Galaxias attenuatus of Australia and New Zealand and Allosmerus elongatus of North American coastal regions of the Pacific

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Etymology

Origin of whitebait

First recorded in 1750–60; white + bait, so called from use as bait

Example Sentences

Half a stone overweight, Donald had been fishing whitebait on the Waikato river external-link when Henry rang him and asked him to join the squad before the semi-finals.

From BBC • Oct. 11, 2023

They ate whitebait patties and steaks at the Whataroa hotel, slept in simple cabins and rented houses and mixed and mingled with the local farming community.

From The Guardian • Dec. 12, 2016

A few minutes later, it is brought in: kilograms of silver cyprinid - the size of whitebait - glisten in the morning sun.

From BBC • Feb. 17, 2014

Frying is a strength, in croquettes filled with smoked eel, or fried whitebait, their pinpoint black eyes staring up from a swirl of lemon-yellow aioli.

From New York Times • Feb. 11, 2014

One day the whitebait, grown now to little herrings, came up the estuary.

From The Sun's Babies by Howes, Edith