bay anchovy

noun

: a grayish anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli) that has a narrow silvery stripe along each side of the body and a short, blunt snout and that is found in shallow coastal and brackish waters of the western Atlantic from Maine to the Yucatán Peninsula

The tiny bay anchovy, for example, is so abundant at times it may supply the bulk of annual nutrition for some of the bay's birds and larger fish.

—Tom Horton, Baltimore Sun, 27 Aug. 2004

Blitzing stripers in the 28- to 32- foot size class and weighing eight pounds were feeding on bay anchovies.

—Peter Kaminsky, New York Times, 20 Oct. 2002

Word History

First Known Use

1941, in the meaning defined above

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