Shad

noun

1. Any of several marine food fishes chiefly of the genus Alosa, especially A. sapidissima of northern North American waters, which swims up rivers to spawn. Shad are closely related to herring.
2. A Middle English past participle of shed.
3. A clupeoid fish of the genus Alosa, in which there are no palatal teeth and the cheeks are deeper than they are long.
4. In the Ohio valley, a clupeoid, Pomolobus chrysochloris, with persistent and well-developed teeth in the premaxillaries and front of the lower jaw.
5. With a qualifying word, one of several other fishes. See gizzard-shad, and phrases below.