plural dace
1
: a small freshwater European cyprinid fish (Leuciscus leuciscus)
2
: any of various small North American freshwater cyprinid fishes

Examples of dace in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Following last year’s Bridge fire, which scorched habitat in the East Fork of the San Gabriel River, 503 rainbows — in addition to Santa Ana speckled dace, Santa Ana sucker and arroyo chub — were relocated to nearby streams, Evans said. Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 14 Jan. 2025 In Iowa, the majority of the deceased fish were minnows, shiners, dace, or chub, though thousands of channel catfish and at least 264 flatheads were killed, too, along with carp and sunfish. Sage Marshall, Field & Stream, 3 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English dace, darce, from Anglo-French dars, from Medieval Latin darsus

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of dace was in the 15th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dace.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dace. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

plural dace
: any of various North American freshwater fishes related to the carp

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