mullet

1
[ muhl-it ]

noun,plural (especially collectively) mul·let, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) mul·lets.
  1. any of several marine or freshwater, usually gray fishes of the family Mugilidae, having a nearly cylindrical body.

  2. a goatfish.

  1. a sucker, especially of the genus Moxostoma.

Origin of mullet

1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English molet, mulet, melet, from Old French mulet “red mullet,” from Latin mullus “red mullet,” from Greek mýllos, a kind of unidentified fish ; see -et

Other definitions for mullet (2 of 3)

mullet2
[ muhl-it ]

nounHeraldry.
  1. a starlike charge having five points unless a greater number is specified, used especially as the cadency mark of a third son.

Origin of mullet

2
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English molet(te), from Old French molete “rowel of a spur,” equivalent to mole “millstone” (French meule ) + -ette diminutive suffix; see -ette
  • Also called American star, Scottish star .
  • Also mol·et [mol-it] /ˈmɒl ɪt/ .

Other definitions for mullet (3 of 3)

mullet3
[ muhl-it ]

noun
  1. a hairstyle in which the hair is short in the front and at the sides of the head, and longer in the back.

Origin of mullet

3
First recorded in 1990–95; perhaps by shortening of mullethead “blockhead, fool”; popularized and probably coined by U.S. hip-hop group the Beastie Boys

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use mullet in a sentence

  • The lot sailed from Liverpool yesterday, in the ship American Star.

    Verner's Pride | Mrs. Henry Wood

British Dictionary definitions for mullet (1 of 2)

mullet1

/ (ˈmʌlɪt) /


noun
  1. any of various teleost food fishes belonging to the families Mugilidae (grey mullet) or Mullidae (red mullet): See also grey mullet, red mullet

  2. the US name for grey mullet

Origin of mullet

1
C15: via Old French from Latin mullus, from Greek mullos

British Dictionary definitions for mullet (2 of 2)

mullet2

/ (ˈmʌlɪt) /


noun
  1. a hairstyle in which the hair is short at the top and long at the back

Origin of mullet

2
C20: origin unknown

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012