minnow

[ min-oh ]

noun,plural (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) min·nows, (especially collectively, Rare) min·now for 1-3.
  1. a small, European cyprinoid fish, Phoxinus phoxinus.

  2. any other fish of the family Cyprinidae, including the carps, goldfishes, and daces.

  1. any of various unrelated, small fishes.

  2. a person or thing that is comparatively small or insignificant: With just six electoral votes up for grabs, the Midwestern swing state of Iowa is a mere minnow compared to giants like Florida and Ohio.

  3. Also called cryp·to min·now [krip-toh min-oh] /ˈkrɪp toʊ ˌmɪn oʊ/ . an investor who holds a small amount of cryptocurrency and is therefore unlikely to make transactions that have a significant effect on prices: In the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain, minnows still play a crucial role in decentralizing ownership and participation in the industry.: Compare whale1 (def. 3).

Origin of minnow

1
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English minwe, Old English mynwe (unrecorded), feminine of myne; cognate with Old High German munewa, a kind of fish

Words Nearby minnow

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

How to use minnow in a sentence

  • The minnow bites freely in fine weather, and you may take almost as many as you please by angling for them.

    The Teesdale Angler | R Lakeland
  • Should rain fall at this season, after the water has been low for some time, Trout will take a minnow exceedingly well.

    The Teesdale Angler | R Lakeland
  • The former is styled the Archimedean, the latter the Phantom minnow, which collapses when struck by a fish.

    The Teesdale Angler | R Lakeland
  • Courtiers of forty years' standing, and such I may write myself, are as far to seek in the matter as a minnow in the Maelstrom.

    The Fortunes of Nigel | Sir Walter Scott
  • They permit trolling with angels, or phantoms, or the natural minnow.

    Angling Sketches | Andrew Lang

British Dictionary definitions for minnow

minnow

/ (ˈmɪnəʊ) /


nounplural -nows or -now
  1. a small slender European freshwater cyprinid fish, Phoxinus phoxinus

  2. any other small cyprinid

  1. angling a spinning lure imitating a minnow

  2. a small or insignificant person

Origin of minnow

1
C15: related to Old English myne minnow; compare Old High German muniwa fish

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