fish oil

noun

: a fatty oil from the bodies of various fishes (such as menhaden or sardines) that contains large amounts of unsaturated fatty acids and is used as a dietary supplement and in making various products (such as cosmetics and paints)

Examples of fish oil in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Vitamin D and fish oil belong, presumably, on the green-bean side of the ledger. — Ariana Eunjung Cha, Washington Post, 10 Sep. 2026

Research indicates that algae oil is comparable to fish oil in terms of overall omega-3 bioavailability. — Lauren Panoff, Verywell Health, 2 Sep. 2026

As the company introduced higher-quality fish oil to Americans, its popularity grew. — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 19 Aug. 2026

From fish oil to dynamite Prior to the demand for sardines for chemical manufacturing, sardine oil had long been a byproduct of processing the fish into fertilizer. — Pei-Hsu Lin, The Conversation, 14 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1654, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fish oil

• airfoil
• benzoyl
• despoil
• embroil
• etoile
• gargoyle
• recoil
• subsoil
• tinfoil
• topsoil
• trefoil
• turmoil

Medical Definition

fish oil

noun

: a fatty oil that is obtained from oily fish (such as herring or menhaden), contains large amounts of unsaturated fatty acids, and is used as a dietary supplement and in making various products (such as protective coatings, cosmetics, and animal feed)

Scientists learned some time ago that there are significant health benefits from consuming omega-3 fatty acids, which are found mostly in fish oils, algal oils, and linseed oil.

—Felicia M. Willis, Today's Chemist at Work