lake herring

noun

: a cisco (Coregonus artedii) found from the Mississippi River basin, Great Lakes, and St. Lawrence River northward and important as a commercial food fish

Examples of lake herring in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But massive numbers of native cisco (often called lake herring) and invasive rainbow smelt hatched in 2022 have created an unprecedented amount of food for Lake Superior trout and salmon to gorge on, biologists say. John Myers, Twin Cities, 11 June 2024 Iridescent scales popped into the air like confetti as the men gripped and untangled the flopping lake herring from the net. Bennet Goldstein, Journal Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2023 Plump lake trout reigned atop a food web loaded with species such as perch, sturgeon, lake herring, whitefish and chubs. Dan Egan, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 13 Aug. 2011 The trio is charged with catching ciscoes — also known as lake herring or tullibees — using seine nets and other unlawful methods and then selling them to bait shops, gas stations and other retailers from October 2012 to December 2016. Erin Adler, Star Tribune, 10 Sep. 2020 Hypothetically, Bronte said a higher lake herring population could help improve several issues now seen in the lake. Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 3 Jan. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lake herring.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lake herring was in 1842

Dictionary Entries Near lake herring

Cite this Entry

“Lake herring.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lake%20herring. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!