angler

American  

[ang-gler] / ˈæŋ glər /

noun

1. a person who fishes with a hook and line.

2. a person who gets or tries to get something through scheming.

3. Also called allmouth, anglerfish, goosefish, lotte, monkfish.  any large pediculate fish of the family Lophiidae, especially Lophius americanus, found along the Atlantic coast of America, having an immense mouth and a large, depressed head to which is attached a wormlike filament for luring prey.

4. Also called anglerfish.  any of various related fishes of the order Lophiiformes.

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angler British  

/ ˈæŋɡlə /

noun

1. a person who fishes with a rod and line

2. informal a person who schemes or uses devious methods to secure an advantage

3. Also called: angler fish.  any spiny-finned fish of the order Pediculati (or Lophiiformes ). They live at the bottom of the sea and typically have a long spiny movable dorsal fin with which they lure their prey

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Etymology

Origin of angler

First recorded in 1545–55; angle ² + -er ¹

Explanation

If you go fishing with a rod and a fishing line with a hook at the end of it, you're an angler. An angler might fish off the end of a dock, or from a rowboat in the middle of a lake. Anglers are distinguished by the fact that they fish with metal hooks, and they often release the fish they catch. You can also call one type of fish an angler, short for anglerfish, a big-headed, relatively small-bodied fish. Angler was originally a last name, and came to mean "fisherman" by about 1500, from the verb angle, "fish with a hook," from the Old English angel, which means "angle," but also "fishhook."

Example Sentences

Appeared in the October 31, 2025, print edition as 'Jack Smith, Master Angler'.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 30, 2025

Dovedale and its river were immortalised by Izaak Walton in his famous 17th Century fishing book, The Compleat Angler.

From BBC • Aug. 6, 2024

I started the Instagram account Awkward Angler to keep asking for advice, but also to connect with others internationally and across the U.S.

From New York Times • Feb. 19, 2022

The town already had an old jail that had been remodeled with some cots for campers, said Kathleen Loendoerfer, who owns the Blackfoot Angler fishing shop with her husband, Travis Thurmond.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 8, 2021

One or two patterns would suffice—if the Angler could select the particular species the trout are rising to without trying all the patterns until he discovers the killing patterns.

From The Determined Angler and the Brook Trout an anthological volume of trout fishing, trout histories, trout lore, trout resorts, and trout tackle by Bradford, Charles Barker