plural lampreys
: any of a family (Petromyzontidae) of eel-shaped freshwater or anadromous jawless fishes that include those cyclostomes having well-developed eyes and a large disk-shaped suctorial mouth armed with horny teeth
called also lamprey eel
Examples of lamprey in a Sentence
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This area overlaps with those designated to protect harbor porpoises and the nearby Humber Estuary and its mud flats, sand dunes, and marshes where thousands of birds spend the winters alongside other important species, such as lampreys and gray seals.
—
Lauren Lowman, WIRED, 15 Mar. 2025
Those included black rockfish, lingcod, Chinook salmon, Pacific herring, Pacific lamprey, and pink shrimp, according to a PSU press release.
—Erica Lamberg, Fox News, 6 Feb. 2025
How Did Sea Lampreys Get Into Lake Superior? Sea lampreys entered the Great Lakes through shipping canals in the 1920s.
—Tom Howarth, Newsweek, 7 Jan. 2025
And so, after decades of protests from the region’s indigenous tribes, California and Oregon issued approval for dam removal to restore habitat for four keystone fish species: Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, Pacific lamprey, and steelhead trout.
—Kelly Bastone, Outside Online, 24 Nov. 2024
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Lauren Lowman, WIRED, 15 Mar. 2025
Those included black rockfish, lingcod, Chinook salmon, Pacific herring, Pacific lamprey, and pink shrimp, according to a PSU press release.
—Erica Lamberg, Fox News, 6 Feb. 2025
How Did Sea Lampreys Get Into Lake Superior? Sea lampreys entered the Great Lakes through shipping canals in the 1920s.
—Tom Howarth, Newsweek, 7 Jan. 2025
And so, after decades of protests from the region’s indigenous tribes, California and Oregon issued approval for dam removal to restore habitat for four keystone fish species: Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, Pacific lamprey, and steelhead trout.
—Kelly Bastone, Outside Online, 24 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for lamprey
Cite this Entry
“Lamprey.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lamprey. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
lamprey
noun
lam·prey
ˈlam-prē 
-ˌprā
plural lampreys
: any of a family of jawless fishes that resemble eels and have a large sucking mouth with horny teeth
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