red herring

noun

: something unimportant that is used to stop people from noticing or thinking about something important

Full Definition of RED HERRING

: a herring cured by salting and slow smoking to a dark brown color

[from the practice of drawing a red herring across a trail to confuse hunting dogs] : something that distracts attention from the real issue

See red herring defined for English-language learners

See red herring defined for kids

15th century

Next Word in the Dictionary: redhibitionPrevious Word in the Dictionary: red hematiteAll Words Near: red herring

What made you want to look up red herring? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

Put-downs with flair

How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts.

Test your vocab with our fun, fast game

Ailurophobia, and 9 other unusual fears