Illustration of eel
- eel 1a
1
a
: any of numerous voracious elongate snakelike bony fishes (order Anguilliformes) that have a smooth slimy skin, lack pelvic fins, and have the median fins confluent around the tail compare american eel
b
: any of numerous other elongate fishes (as of the order Synbranchiformes)
2
: any of various nematodes (such as the vinegar eel)
eeled; eeling; eels
1
a
: to fish for eels see also eeling
b
: to fish with eels as bait
2
: to move or make (one's way) sinuously or insidiously : worm
Stories my Russian friends had told me about the hundreds who were trampled at Stalin's funeral came back to me. Finally, we gave up and eeled our way out of there.—
Ian Frazier
Ian Frazier
Did you know?
There are more than 500 fish species known as eels. They are slender, elongated, and usually scaleless, with long dorsal and anal fi ns that are continuous around the tail tip. Eels are found in all seas, from coastal regions to the mid-depths. Freshwater eels are active, predatory fish with small embedded scales. They grow to maturity in freshwater and return to the sea, where they spawn and die. The transparent young drift to the coast and make their way upstream. Freshwater eels, considered valuable food fish, include species ranging from 4 in (10 cm) to about 111⁄2 ft (3.5 m) long.
Examples of eel in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebMark Jenkins, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
My friend took the adventurous route and got the Caterpillar roll, which featured an eel.
—Essence, 11 Mar. 2024
The tiny baby eels, which are often worth more than $2,000 per pound, are also called elvers.
—Patrick Whittle, Quartz, 5 Feb. 2024
Share [Findings] Electric eel discharge transforms the DNA of zebrafish larvae.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024
Evidently, food was so abundant that the villagers all but ignored the fish, eels and water fowl swimming around the foundations of the settlement.
—Franz Lidz, New York Times, 19 Mar. 2024
The eels were worth $2,009 a pound last year — more than 400 times more than lobster, Maine’s signature seafood.
—Patrick Whittle, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2024
To get to New York, the eel larvae catch a ride on the Gulf Stream current.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 13 Mar. 2024
An eel’s life American eels hatch about 3,700-miles miles southeast of the Hudson in the salty Sargasso Sea.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 13 Mar. 2024
The Editors, Robb Report, 28 Mar. 2024
With his brother-in-law as president, Mr. Saint-Rémy wielded enormous influence, often demanding that choice licenses and contracts be awarded to him, particularly eel export licenses, according to officials in Mr. Martelly’s government.
—New York Times, 12 Dec. 2021
These men eel entitled and had been protected from being outed.
—James Warren, The Hive, 20 Oct. 2017
Noun
The eel was more than three feet long, weighed at least 15 pounds and was writhing wildly, snapping its backward-curving, razor-sharp teeth.
—Mark Jenkins, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
My friend took the adventurous route and got the Caterpillar roll, which featured an eel.
—Essence, 11 Mar. 2024
The tiny baby eels, which are often worth more than $2,000 per pound, are also called elvers.
—Patrick Whittle, Quartz, 5 Feb. 2024
Share [Findings] Electric eel discharge transforms the DNA of zebrafish larvae.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024
Evidently, food was so abundant that the villagers all but ignored the fish, eels and water fowl swimming around the foundations of the settlement.
—Franz Lidz, New York Times, 19 Mar. 2024
The eels were worth $2,009 a pound last year — more than 400 times more than lobster, Maine’s signature seafood.
—Patrick Whittle, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2024
To get to New York, the eel larvae catch a ride on the Gulf Stream current.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 13 Mar. 2024
An eel’s life American eels hatch about 3,700-miles miles southeast of the Hudson in the salty Sargasso Sea.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 13 Mar. 2024
Verb
See also: eel ‘The Theory of the Leisure Class’ by Thorstein Veblen
Thorstein Veblen’s 1899 magnum opus, The Theory of the Leisure Class, could be considered a forerunner of the behavioral economics so popular now.
—The Editors, Robb Report, 28 Mar. 2024
With his brother-in-law as president, Mr. Saint-Rémy wielded enormous influence, often demanding that choice licenses and contracts be awarded to him, particularly eel export licenses, according to officials in Mr. Martelly’s government.
—New York Times, 12 Dec. 2021
These men eel entitled and had been protected from being outed.
—James Warren, The Hive, 20 Oct. 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'eel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near eel
Cite this Entry
“Eel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eel. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
eel
noun
plural eels or eel
: any of numerous long snakelike fishes that have a smooth slimy skin and the fins in the middle of the back and bottom continuous around the tail
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