electric eel

American  

noun

1. an eellike, freshwater fish, Electrophorus electricus, found in the Amazon and Orinoco rivers and tributaries, sometimes over 6 feet (1.8 meters) long, capable of emitting strong electric discharges.

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electric eel British  

noun

1. an eel-like freshwater cyprinoid fish, Electrophorus electricus, of N South America, having electric organs in the body: family Electrophoridae

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Etymology

Origin of electric eel

First recorded in 1785–95

Example Sentences

Ash said he and the team bathed in the river at night with electric eel, caiman, sting rays, giant river otters and piranha.

From BBC

He once summoned Begley up to the house to work out the practicalities of keeping electric eels in the swimming pool to generate power.

From Los Angeles Times

For centuries this landscape, shaped by ancient rivers, has been shared by ranchers and cattle, which learned to coexist with jaguars, panthers, anacondas, electric eels and crocodiles.

From New York Times

Researchers from Nagoya University and Kyoto University in Japan learned this by placing zebrafish larvae in the same tank as electric eels, then dousing the tank in DNA that codes for a green fluorescent protein.

From Salon

"This indicates that the discharge from the electric eel promoted gene transfer to the cells, even though eels have different shapes of pulse and unstable voltage compared to machines usually used in electroporation," said Iida.

From Science Daily