lamprey

noun

lam·​prey ˈlam-prē 

-ˌprā

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

The ancestor of living vertebrates could likely detect red, purple, blue and green — an ability that was maintained in lizards, birds, lampreys and lungfish, among other vertebrate groups, Wiens said. —Molly Herring, Quanta Magazine, 27 June 2025

The agencies have explained it as a way of expanding spawning habitat for salmon, steelhead, lamprey and sturgeon. —Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 28 Apr. 2025

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

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French lampreie, from Medieval Latin lampreda

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing lamprey

• sea lamprey

Kids 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