red herring
About Our Definitions: All forms of a word (noun, verb, etc.) are now displayed on one page.
About Our Definitions: All forms of a word (noun, verb, etc.) are now displayed on one page.red herring
nounDefinition of RED HERRING
1
: a herring cured by salting and slow smoking to a dark brown color
2
[from the practice of drawing a red herring across a trail to confuse hunting dogs] : something that distracts attention from the real issue
See Examples of RED HERRING
- The argument is a red herring. It actually has nothing to do with the issue.
- The plot of the mystery was full of red herrings.
First Known Use of RED HERRING
15th century
Browse
Next Word in the Dictionary: redhibition
Previous Word in the Dictionary: red hematite
All Words Near: red herring
Previous Word in the Dictionary: red hematite
All Words Near: red herring
Seen & Heard 
What made you want to look up red herring? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
