1615–25, < Portuguese moréia < Latin mūraena < Greek mȳ́raina lamprey
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
California moray eels live in coral reefs from Point Conception in Santa Barbara County to southern Baja California in Mexico, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 17, 2024
While many coral reef residents, such as groupers and moray eels, work together when hunting for their mutual benefit, the trumpetfish’s sneaky shadowing of larger fish seems to be solely for its own benefit.
From New York Times • Aug. 7, 2023
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
Some time later, I made an informed guess that it had been a large moray eel.
From "The Cay" by Theodore Taylor
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.
