mackinaw

noun

mack·​i·​naw ˈma-kə-ˌnȯ 

1

: a heavy woolen blanket formerly distributed by the U.S. government to Indigenous Americans

2

a

: a heavy cloth of wool or wool and other fibers often with a plaid design and usually heavily napped and felted

b

: a short coat of mackinaw or similar heavy fabric

3

: mackinaw trout

Examples of mackinaw in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Detectives from the Twin Cities and the famed Pinkerton agency in Chicago found a button from a woodsman's mackinaw jacket in Aagot's cabin. — Curt Brown Special To The Star Tribune, Star Tribune, 12 Dec. 2020

Tanner caught the lake trout, a freshwater fish also known as a mackinaw, on his line and reeled it in for about 15 minutes, Wilson said. — Danielle Garrand, CBS News, 28 Apr. 2020

Catches of rainbow trout have been excellent, sprinkled with the occasional giant mackinaw or brown trout. — Tom Stienstra, SFChronicle.com, 21 June 2018

Also called mackinaw, lake trout are a predominantly fish-eating species naturally found in the Great Lakes, much of Canada and along the Eastern Seaboard. — Mike Koshmrl, The Seattle Times, 3 June 2018

Meanwhile, Marc Christophel of Christophel’s Guide Service confirmed that the mackinaw bite went hot this weekend. — sacbee, 23 Apr. 2018

Word History

Etymology

Mackinaw (Mackinac), trading post at site of Mackinaw City, Michigan

First Known Use

1836, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing mackinaw

• mackinaw trout

Rhymes for mackinaw

• allantois
• baccarat
• chickasaw
• overawe
• oversaw
• quebecois
• yojana
• aa
• aha
• bashaw
• bradshaw
• byelaw

Kids Definition

mackinaw

noun

mack·​i·​naw ˈmak-ə-ˌnȯ 

: a short heavy woolen often plaid coat