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
Recent Examples on the Web
Mincemeat pies, crane, swan, brawn (terrine made with a pig’s head and served with mustard), goose and lamprey pie, and even porpoise (served dressed with vinegar and breadcrumbs) were all popular holiday fare.
—
Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 22 Dec. 2025
Sea lampreys are parasites, feeding by attaching to fish with their suction mouth, using their tongue to rasp a hole through the fish's skin, and consuming the blood and juices that flow out.
—Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 15 Dec. 2025
The workers must then expose the ecosystem to a specific concentration of poison, perfectly calibrated to kill lampreys and not many other fish, for nine uninterrupted hours.
—Katie Thornton, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
In particular, applying pesticides and other techniques to control lamprey populations costs around $20 million per year.
—Christine Keiner, The Conversation, 15 Oct. 2025
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Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 22 Dec. 2025
Sea lampreys are parasites, feeding by attaching to fish with their suction mouth, using their tongue to rasp a hole through the fish's skin, and consuming the blood and juices that flow out.
—Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 15 Dec. 2025
The workers must then expose the ecosystem to a specific concentration of poison, perfectly calibrated to kill lampreys and not many other fish, for nine uninterrupted hours.
—Katie Thornton, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
In particular, applying pesticides and other techniques to control lamprey populations costs around $20 million per year.
—Christine Keiner, The Conversation, 15 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lamprey
Cite this Entry
“Lamprey.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lamprey. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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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