plural herring or herrings
1
: either of two food fishes (genus Clupea):
a
: one (C. harengus) that is abundant in the temperate and colder parts of the North Atlantic and that in the adult state is preserved by smoking or salting and in the young state is extensively canned and sold as sardines
b
: one (C. pallasi synonym C. h. pallasi) of the North Pacific harvested especially for its roe
2
: any of a large family (Clupeidae) of soft-finned bony fishes (such as the herrings, shads, sardines, and menhadens) that have a laterally compressed body and a forked tail and usually occur in schools
Examples of herring in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Tourism and fishing livelihoods fell apart overnight with tarnished coastlines and obliterated runs of wild salmon and herring that took decades to recover.
—
Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 25 Mar. 2025
Fatty Fish Fatty fish include salmon, herring, and mackerel.
—Julie Marks, Verywell Health, 20 Mar. 2025
Those included black rockfish, lingcod, Chinook salmon, Pacific herring, Pacific lamprey, and pink shrimp, according to a PSU press release.
—Erica Lamberg, Fox News, 6 Feb. 2025
Fatty fish, like salmon, herring and mackerel, offer the most neuroprotective benefits.
—Emily Cegielski, Flow Space, 22 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for herring
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Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 25 Mar. 2025
Fatty Fish Fatty fish include salmon, herring, and mackerel.
—Julie Marks, Verywell Health, 20 Mar. 2025
Those included black rockfish, lingcod, Chinook salmon, Pacific herring, Pacific lamprey, and pink shrimp, according to a PSU press release.
—Erica Lamberg, Fox News, 6 Feb. 2025
Fatty fish, like salmon, herring and mackerel, offer the most neuroprotective benefits.
—Emily Cegielski, Flow Space, 22 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for herring
Cite this Entry
“Herring.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/herring. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
herring
noun
her·ring
ˈher-iŋ 
plural herring or herrings
: a valuable food fish that is very common in the north Atlantic Ocean
also
: any of various fishes like this one or related to it
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