pompano

noun

pom·​pa·​no ˈpäm-pə-ˌnō  ˈpəm- 

plural pompano or pompanos

1

: a carangid food fish (Trachinotus carolinus) of the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico

broadly : any of several related fishes

2

: a small bluish or greenish butterfish (Peprilus simillimus) of the Pacific coast of North America

Examples of pompano in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

On the good days, pier fishermen are catching a lot of undersized mutton snappers, pompano, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, jack crevalles, big ladyfish and lots of bluerunners. —Alan Sherman, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024

Rockfish, snapper and branzino have firm, sweet, mild-tasting flesh, while oilier silver fish such as mackerel and pompano have a buttery, more assertive flavor. —Domenica Marchetti, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024

The charter boat Two Conchs out of Marathon reported his clients have been bending their fishing rods with catch and release African pompano, big goliath groupers and a few nice cobias. —Alan Sherman, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024

Many pompano and croaker anglers prefer to let their baits roll around the bottom with the waves. —Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 26 Oct. 2023

The High-Low Surf Fishing Rig Although the high-low rig can be used for larger targets like bluefish, striped bass, and red drum, it’s typically reserved for smaller fish like croakers, seatrout, flounder, and pompano. —Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 26 Oct. 2023

Chris Stafford of Cherry Hill, N.J., also established a species record with his Sept. 20 catch of a two-pound pompano dolphinfish. —Ellie Silverman, Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2023

The result is a unified goal of maintaining the health of the marine reserve while still allowing guests to visit sea lion rookeries, swim with whale sharks, mobula rays, and humpback whales, and snorkel among giant damselfish, groupers, turtles, and schools of African pompano. —The Editors, Outside Online, 3 Feb. 2022

Surf anglers are starting to see pompano showing up, though bluefish, ladyfish and jacks are still the most abundant species. —Frank Sargeant, al, 24 Sep. 2021

Word History

Etymology

American Spanish pámpano, from Spanish, a percoid fish (Sparus auratus), literally, vine leaf, from Latin pampinus

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

pompano

noun

pom·​pa·​no ˈpäm-pə-ˌnō  ˈpəm- 

plural pompano or pompanos

: a food fish that occurs along the coasts of the western Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico having a narrow body and forked tail

also : any of several related fishes