moray
noun
any of numerous chiefly tropical eels of the family Muraenidae, having porelike gill openings and no pectoral fins.
moray
1 American
[mawr-ay, mohr-ay, maw-ray, moh-]
/ ˈmɔr eɪ, ˈmoʊr eɪ, mɔˈreɪ, moʊ- /
noun
-
morays
plural
Moray
2
American
[mur-ee]
/ ˈmɜr i /
noun
Moray
1
British
/ ˈmʌrɪ /
noun
Moray
2
British
/ ˈmʌrɪ /
noun
moray
3
British
/ mɒˈreɪ /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of moray
1615–25, < Portuguese moréia < Latin mūraena < Greek mȳ́raina lamprey
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:
After weeks of patience, last year's winner, Shane Gross, captured peppered moray eels scavenging for carrion at low tide.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2025
A dead moray eel washed ashore near Laguna Niguel over the weekend, creeping out beachgoers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2024
Scientists exploring underwater caves have discovered a new species of moray eel that appears to be adapting to its unique habitat—by losing its eyes.
From Science Magazine ● May 18, 2023
Like other moray eels, he had two sets of jaws and an abundance of teeth, which he used to rip into the fish fillets doled out for dinner.
From New York Times ● Oct. 28, 2022
Some time later, I made an informed guess that it had been a large moray eel.
From "The Cay" by Theodore Taylor
On the Moray Firth near Inverness, a long spit of sand and dunes curls out into the sea at Whiteness Head.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026
Founded in Fochabers in Moray in 1868, Baxters remains one of Scotland's best-known food manufacturers.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
It comes after more than a dozen primary schools in Aberdeenshire and Rothiemay Primary School, in Moray, were closed on Monday due to a lack of power.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
A yellow warning for thunderstorms has been issued for Highlands, Orkney, Moray and Argyll and Bute from 15:00 to 23:59, and for the rest of mainland Scotland from 00:00 to 23:59 on Friday.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
Other celebrated Moray families who played a more or less strenuous part in local politics were the Gordons, the Grants and the Duffs.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 3 "Electrostatics" to "Engis" by Various
The researchers used baited traps to lure the morays to the surface of inland caves that connect to the ocean on Australia’s Christmas Island and the Philippines’s Panglao Island.
From Science Magazine ● May 18, 2023
We hope you can still manage a smile, even as our societal morays crumble.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2022
Like many other fish, morays will eventually dry out if they leave water for too long.
From New York Times ● Jun. 22, 2021
That, to me, is trying to impose contemporary morays onto history.
From Slate ● Apr. 21, 2020
The morays wouldn't attack unless disturbed, and there was no reason for disturbing them.
From The Wailing Octopus by Harold L. (Harold Leland) Goodwin
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