eel
Americannoun
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eel,
plural
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eels
plural
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any of numerous elongated, snakelike marine or freshwater fishes of the order Apodes, having no ventral fins.
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any of several similar but unrelated fishes, as the lamprey.
noun
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any teleost fish of the order Apodes (or Anguilliformes ), such as the European freshwater species Anguilla anguilla, having a long snakelike body, a smooth slimy skin, and reduced fins
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any of various other animals with a long body and smooth skin, such as the mud eel and the electric eel
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an evasive or untrustworthy person
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of eel
before 1000; Middle English ele, Old English ēl, ǣl; cognate with Dutch aal, German Aal, Old Norse āll
Explanation
An eel is a fish that's so long and skinny it resembles a snake. Most eels live in very shallow ocean waters, burrowing into the sand there. Eels are a type of fish, and though they are as long and flexible as snakes, they don't have scales, and if you look closely you can see they have a long, low fin. Eels are famous for being slippery, and in fact to be "as slippery as an eel" means to be so sneaky and cunning that you can get away with something illegal or illicit. This figurative meaning dates from the 16th century.
Vocabulary lists containing eel
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
When Reichl first took over the food section at the LA Times, she got a lot of pushback for covering international restaurants and including recipes for things like goat soup, sea slugs, and eel.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
People who depend on eel fishing for the bulk of their income are now waiting to hear what support they may get from Stormont.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
It transforms into a glass eel as it travels from coastal estuaries to places like Lough Neagh and Lough Erne.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Yamada Suisan, the eel farming company selling the fish, said it was a world-first, and a "very significant step toward the future commercialisation of fully farmed eel."
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
I had not eaten eel pie since Momma died, Miss Mary Finch not being fond of it.
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
A spokesperson said trout, eels and lamprey were all confirmed dead.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Recreational and commercial fishing of eels has now stopped in some countries.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The EA and Thames Water are investigating after dead European eels, sticklebacks, gudgeon and stone loach were discovered in the River Pool.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
The fish has proved stubbornly unwilling to reproduce in captivity without intervention, but Japanese researchers succeeded in breeding Japanese eels from eggs in a laboratory setting in 2010 at great expense.
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
Mermaids, manatees, whales, turtles, eels, pirate ships, and all sorts of sea life were printed on it.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
