mackerel
Syllables: mack·e·rel/ˈmæk(ə)ɹəl/
mackerel noun: certain smaller edible fish, principally true mackerel and Spanish mackerel in family Scombridae, often speckled,.
Noun (1)
mackerel (countable and uncountable, plural mackerel or mackerels)
- Certain smaller edible fish, principally true mackerel and Spanish mackerel in family Scombridae, often speckled,
- Typically Scomber scombrus in the British isles.
- […] you may buy land now as cheap as stinking mackerel.c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
- I am living fast, to see the Time, when a Book that misses its Tide, shall be neglected, as the Moon by Day, or like Mackarel a Week after the Season.1704, [Jonathan Swift], A Tale of a Tub. […], London: […] John Nutt, […], →OCLC, page 215
- Typically Scomber scombrus in the British isles.
- A true mackerel, any fish of tribe Scombrini (Scomber spp., Rastrelliger spp.)
- Certain other similar small fish in families Carangidae, Gempylidae, and Hexagrammidae.
- A regular pattern, similar to fish scales, of undulating small clouds with sky visible between them.
- a mackerel sky
- MACKEREL CLOUDS.- Mackerel scales and mares' tails / Make lofty ships carry low sails.1892, George Scott, Scott's New Coast Pilot for the Lakes: Containing a Complete List of All the Lights and Light-houses, Fog Signals and Buoys on Both the American and Canadian Shores, page 277
Noun (2)
mackerel (plural mackerels)
- A pimp; also, a bawd.
- […] nyghe his hows dwellyd a maquerel or bawde […]1483, William Caxton, Magnus Cato, quoted in James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps, A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, Obsolete Phrases, Proverbs and Ancient Customs, from the Fourteenth...
- NETTING MACKEREL: THE PIMP DETAIL1980, The Police Journal, Volume 53 (page 257) doi:10.1177/0032258X8005300305 (also available at Google books)
mackerel meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
mackerel in Hindi
- मैकेरल, मैकेरेल, मैकरेल
mackerel in Tamil
- காணன் கெளுத்தி, கானாங்கெளுத்தி
mackerel in Marathi
- मॅकेरेल, मॅकेरल
mackerel in Urdu
- سرمئی مچھلی
More languagesFewer languages
- mackerel in Bengali
- রেখাঙ্কিত সামুদ্রিক মাছ
- mackerel in Malayalam
- അയല ayala
- mackerel in Kannada
- ಮ್ಯಾಕೆರೆಲ್
- mackerel in Punjabi
- ਮੈਕੇਰਲ, ਮੈਕਰੇਲ, ਮੈਕੇਰੇਲ
- mackerel in Gujarati
- મેકરેલ, મેકેરલ, મેકેરેલ
- mackerel in Odia
- ମ୍ଯ଼ାକେରେଲ୍, ମ୍ଯ଼ାକେରେଲ
- mackerel in Nepali
- म्याकेरेल, म्याकेरल, म्याकरेल
- mackerel in Arabic
- إِسْقُمَرِيّ ʔisqumariyy, مَاكْرِيل mākrīl
- mackerel in Malay
- tenggiri
- mackerel in Indonesian
- tenggiri, kembung
- mackerel in Persian
- اسقومری esqumri, خالمخالی xâlmaxâli
- mackerel in Vietnamese
- cá thu
Examples of mackerel in a sentence
- Philander went into the next room[…]and came back with a salt mackerel that dripped brine like a rainstorm.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
- He sometimes pinches the maids till their arms are as many colours as a mackerel’s back.1926, Hope Mirrlees, chapter 6, in Lud-in-the-Mist, London: Millennium, published 2000, page 68:
- Waitrose has become the first UK supermarket to suspend the sale of mackerel because of overfishing and will start pointing customers toward herring and other species.2026 February 26, Tara Russell, “Waitrose to halt the sale of mackerel because of overfishing”, in The Guardian, page 9:
- Mackerel clouds in sky, Expect more wet than dry.1908, The Journal of Geography, page 201:
Forms of mackerel
| plural | mackerel |
|---|---|
| plural | mackerels |
Origin of mackerel
From Middle English mackerell, macrell, macrelle, makarell, makerel, makerell, makerelle, makrel, makrell, makyrelle, from Old French maquerel. Further origin unknown.
From Middle English makerel, maquerel, from Old French maquerel, from Middle Dutch makelare, makelaer (“broker”) (> makelaar (“broker, peddler”)). See also French maquereau.
Words formed from mackerel
- Atka mackerel
- Atlantic mackerel
- banded mackerel
- butterfly mackerel
- cero mackerel
- chub mackerel
- cold as a mackerel
- common mackerel
- dead as a mackerel
- double-lined mackerel
- Great Mackerel Beach
- holy mackerel
- horse mackerel
- jack mackerel
- king mackerel
- mackerel bird
- mackerel breeze
- mackerel cock
- mackereler
- mackerel gale
- mackerel gull
- mackerel icefish
- mackerelled
- mackerelling
- mackerelly
- mackerel midge
- mackerel mint
- mackerel pike
- mackerel-pike
- mackerel scad
- mackerel shad
- mackerel shark
- mackerel sky
- mackerel sky and mare's-tails make lofty ships carry low sails
- mackerel sky and mare's-tails make tall ships carry low sails
- mackerel snapper
- mackerel tuna
- snake mackerel
- Spanish mackerel
- stink like a mackerel
- stink like a mackerel in the moonlight
- stink like a mackerel in the sun
- throw a sprat to catch a mackerel
- tinker mackerel
- yellow mackerel
Phrases with mackerel
- mackerel birds
- mackerel mints
- mackerel pikes
- mackerel skies
- mackerel sharks
- mackerel breezes
- mackerel snappers
- stank like a mackerel
- stunk like a mackerel
- Japanese jack mackerel
- stinks like a mackerel
- Atlantic horse mackerel
13 more phrasesFewer phrases
- stinking like a mackerel
- stank like a mackerel in the sun
- stunk like a mackerel in the sun
- stinks like a mackerel in the sun
- threw a sprat to catch a mackerel
- thrown a sprat to catch a mackerel
- throws a sprat to catch a mackerel
- stinking like a mackerel in the sun
- throwing a sprat to catch a mackerel
- stank like a mackerel in the moonlight
- stunk like a mackerel in the moonlight
- stinks like a mackerel in the moonlight
- stinking like a mackerel in the moonlight
Words that rhyme with mackerel
Questions about mackerel
- What does mackerel mean?
- Mackerel means certain smaller edible fish, principally true mackerel and Spanish mackerel in family Scombridae, often speckled,.
- What is mackerel in Hindi?
- Mackerel in Hindi is मैकेरल, मैकेरेल, मैकरेल. See Mackerel meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use mackerel in a sentence?
- Philander went into the next room[…]and came back with a salt mackerel that dripped brine like a rainstorm.
- What part of speech is mackerel?
- Mackerel is a noun.
- How do you pronounce mackerel?
- Mackerel is pronounced /ˈmæk(ə)ɹəl/.
- What is the plural of mackerel?
- The plural of mackerel is mackerel.
Words near mackerel in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: mackerel (page history and authors); mackerel (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); mackerel (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); mackerel (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); mackerel (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); mackerel (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); mackerel (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); mackerel (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); mackerel (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); mackerel (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); mackerel (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-mackerel.ogg.
Cite this entry: “mackerel.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/mackerel. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.