mullet

noun

mul·​let ˈmə-lət 

plural mullet or mullets

1

: any of a family (Mugilidae) of chiefly marine bony fishes with an elongated rather stout body compare goatfish, red mullet

2

[perhaps short for mullethead blockhead] : a hairstyle in which the hair is short on the sides and top and long at the back

Illustration of mullet

• mullet 1

Examples of mullet in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In 1981 in suburban Long Island, New York, the mullets are long, the metal is heavy, and 14-year-old Douglas gets a birthday surprise that will change his life forever. —Elaina Patton, IndieWire, 15 Dec. 2025

Nestled in the historic commercial fishing village of Cortez, Swordfish Grill is surrounded by working docks and pristine mangroves, gray pelicans and blue herons, leaping mullet, and frolicking dolphins. —Mary Lebus, Cincinnati Enquirer, 15 Dec. 2025

Wearing a colorful polka-dot shirt, a red tie, and voluminous rainbow pants, with her hair cut in a scraggly mullet, Sherman, who is thirty-two, delivered a performance that was almost entirely given over to an abrasive discussion of the abjectness of the human body—mostly her own. —Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2025

Why did all tween boys (including my cousins) have mullets in the late ’80s? —Emma Specter, Vogue, 21 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English molet, from Anglo-French mulet, from Latin mullus red mullet, from Greek myllos

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing mullet

• red mullet

Rhymes for mullet

• gullet
• rivulet

Kids Definition

mullet

noun

mul·​let ˈməl-ət 

plural mullet or mullets

: any of a family of mostly gray food fishes chiefly of salt water compare red mullet