pickerel

UK: /ˈpɪkərəl/, /ˈpɪkrəl/

US: /ˈpɪkərəl, ˈpɪkrəl/

US: (pik′ər əl, pik′rəl)

Inflections of 'pickerel' (n):

pickerel

npl (Especially as a collective plural—e.g. "Pickerel are freshwater fish.")

pickerels

npl (Mainly used to talk about different types—e.g. "Pickerels include the Americal pickerel and the redfin pickerel.")

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

pick•er•el /ˈpɪkərəl, ˈpɪkrəl/   n. [countable] , pl. (esp. when thought of as a group) -el, (esp. for kinds or species) -els. 

1. Fish a kind of fish, a pike.
2. Fish the walleye, blue pike, or pikeperch.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

pick•er•el  (pik′ər əl, pik′rəl), n., pl. (esp. collectively) -el,  (esp. referring to two or more kinds or species) -els. 

1. Fish any of several small species of pike, as Esox niger (chain pickerel) and E. americanus americanus (redfin pickerel,) of eastern North America.
2. Fish the walleye or pikeperch, Stizostedion vitreum.
3. Fish [Brit.] a young pike.

• Middle English pickerel. See pike¹, -erel 1300–50

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

pickerel / ˈpɪkərəl ˈpɪkrəl/ noun ( -el, -els)

1. any of several North American freshwater game fishes, such as Esox americanus and E. niger: family Esocidae (pikes, walleye, etc)

Etymology: 14th Century: a small pike; diminutive of pike¹