hagfish

noun

hag·​fish ˈhag-ˌfish How to pronounce hagfish (audio)
: any of a family (Myxinidae) of marine cyclostomes that are related to the lampreys and in general resemble eels but have a round mouth surrounded by barbels and that feed upon other fishes and invertebrates by boring into their bodies

Examples of hagfish in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In another example, Jeong shares that at the start, her Korean production partners were nervous about telling the story of hagfish in the show. Sara Merican, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2025 Right away, our eyes landed on Lohan’s bag — the $4,850 Fendi Spy Small handbag in luxurious burgundy hagfish leather, to be exact. Jamie Allison Sanders, PEOPLE, 18 Sep. 2025 First come the scavengers — sharks, crabs, hagfish — which tear into the soft tissue. Sruthi Gurudev Jules Jacobs, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025 These tiny marine invertebrates were less than an inch long and may be distantly related to living hagfish. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 12 Sep. 2024 See All Example Sentences for hagfish

Word History

First Known Use

1799, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hagfish was in 1799

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Cite this Entry

“Hagfish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hagfish. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.

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