American plaice

noun

: a small, brownish flounder (Hippoglossoides platessoides) found on both coasts of the north Atlantic that has a large mouth and both eyes on the right side

While bowheads are doing better because commercial hunting has ended, the situation is dire for the American plaice, a flatfish that experts fear is in the midst of a cod-like collapse due to massive overharvesting in Canadian waters.—

Martin Mittelstaedt, Globe and Mail (Canada), 5 May 2009

Word History

First Known Use

1884, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of American plaice was in 1884

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“American plaice.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/American%20plaice. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation