ling

ling — noun

1. a low evergreen heath plant with small pink or purple bell-shaped blooms, growin

1.nounC1
Definition

a low evergreen heath plant with small pink or purple bell-shaped blooms, growing abundantly across moors, heaths, and other open countryside

Example

Élise stopped every few minutes to photograph the purple ling on the moor.

uncountable: ling as a landscape plant

Beekeepers on the heath value ling honey for its dark colour and strong taste.

compound noun: ling honey

Common collocations
  • purple ling
  • flowering ling
  • ling honey
  • ling moor
  • thick ling
Synonyms
  • heather

    broader term that includes ling and other heath plants (Erica species)

  • Calluna vulgaris

    scientific name for the specific species of ling

Usage Note

Often uncountable when referring to the plant as a mass covering the ground; countable when referring to individual plants or species.

Common Mistakes

Heather and ling are different plants, but ling is a type of heather.
Heather and ling are related plants; ling is a specific type of heather (Calluna vulgaris).
'Ling' is not a separate family from heather; it is one species within the heather family.

2. a long, slender saltwater fish related to cod, found in cold northern Atlantic w

2.nounC1
Definition

a long, slender saltwater fish related to cod, found in cold northern Atlantic waters and often sold fresh, smoked, or salted

Example

Christopher ordered grilled ling with roasted vegetables at the harbour restaurant.

food sense: grilled ling

Fishermen off the coast of Iceland catch ling throughout the winter months.

Common collocations
  • grilled ling
  • smoked ling
  • fresh ling
  • ling fillets
  • baked ling
  • ling fisher
Synonyms
  • common ling

    specifically Molva molva, the most well-known ling species

  • burbot

    a freshwater ling species found in rivers and lakes, also called eel-pout

Usage Note

Uncountable when referring to the fish as food (e.g. 'We had ling for dinner'); countable when referring to individual fish (e.g. 'The net held three large lings').

Common Mistakes

Ling is the same fish as cod.
Ling is a member of the cod family but is a different species from Atlantic cod.
'Ling' refers to several cod-family species (Molva molva, Lota lota) distinct from the common cod (Gadus morhua).

Word family

  • lingy
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Ling and heather are often used interchangeably in casual speech, but they have a precise botanical relationship. Heather (Erica) is a genus of around 800 species of evergreen shrubs, while ling (Calluna vulgaris) is the only species in its genus — it is one specific type of heather. In everyday British English, 'heather' is the broader, more common word for the purple-flowering plants covering moorland; 'ling' is a more specialised term used by gardeners, ecologists, and beekeepers. For example: 'The hills were covered in heather' sounds natural in general conversation, whereas 'The ling is in full bloom on the eastern slope' would be typical of a plant guide or a naturalist's description.

heatherling ↗Calluna vulgaris

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • come into flower
  • in bloom
  • covered in ling
  • thick with ling

Prepositions

Etymology

Old NorseMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'ling' has two distinct origins. The plant name comes from Old Norse 'lyng' meaning 'heather', entering Middle English around the 14th century; it is related to Swedish 'ljung' and Norwegian 'lyng', both meaning 'heather'. The fish name comes from Middle English 'lenge', from Old Norse 'langa', meaning 'long' — a reference to the fish's elongated body shape. The two meanings are historically unrelated but share the same modern spelling.