mermaid

noun

mer·​maid ˈmər-ˌmād How to pronounce mermaid (audio)
: a fabled marine creature with the head and upper body of a woman and the tail of a fish

Examples of mermaid in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Just last year, Disney released a new show centered on the mermaid, called Disney Junior's Ariel. Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 25 Aug. 2025 With a recent mermaid TikTok trend in mind, Loos took out her phone, hit record and hopped in. Meredith Wilshere, People.com, 24 Aug. 2025 Each form usually comes with a unique ability that can be used to traverse areas, clear obstacles, and enhance gameplay in some way such as swimming better in her mermaid form, crawling up webs as a spider, or smashing boulders as an elephant. David Jagneaux, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025 The formfitting silhouette gave way to a mermaid skirt, hugging Hudgens at the knees and flaring slightly. Julia Teti, Footwear News, 22 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for mermaid

Word History

Etymology

Middle English mermayde, from mere sea (from Old English) + mayde maid — more at marine

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mermaid was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Mermaid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mermaid. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

mermaid

noun
mer·​maid ˈmər-ˌmād How to pronounce mermaid (audio)
: an imaginary sea creature usually represented with a woman's body and a fish's tail
Etymology

Middle English mermayde "mermaid," from mere "lake, pool, sea" and mayde "maid"

More from Merriam-Webster on mermaid

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