minnow

noun

min·​now ˈmi-(ˌ)nō 

plural minnows also minnow

1

a

: a small cyprinid, killifish, or topminnow

b

: any of various small fish that are less than a designated size and are not game fish

2

: a live or artificial minnow used as bait

Examples of minnow in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While still a relative minnow compared to Rivian, Lucid has been on something of an upward trajectory of late. —Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 16 July 2024

Numerous analysts have likened the Skydance acquisition of Paramount Global to a minnow swallowing a whale. —Matt Donnelly, Variety, 10 July 2024

Jigs can be tipped with any variety of soft plastics or live bait like minnows, leeches, or night crawlers. —Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 13 June 2024

These sites preserve thousands of small, hard parts of a diversity of animals, ranging from traces of microscopic parasites, to the scales of minnows, to bits of much bigger frogs, turtles, birds, mammals, crocodiles and dinosaurs. —Kristi Curry Rogers, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English menawe; akin to Old English myne minnow, Old High German munewa, a kind of fish

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

minnow

noun

min·​now ˈmin-ō 

plural minnows also minnow

: any of various small freshwater fishes (as a dace or shiner) related to the carps

also : any of various small fishes that resemble minnows