sand eel

American  

noun

1. sand lance.

2. New Zealand. sandfish.

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sand eel British  

noun

1. Popular name: launce.  any silvery eel-like marine spiny-finned fish of the family Ammodytidae found burrowing in sand or shingle

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Etymology

Origin of sand eel

1275–1325; Middle English sandel; see sand, eel

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sand eel

The sand eel, a small eel-like fish that spends most of the year buried in shallow sediments, plays a key role in this process.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 21, 2023

British seas have warmed and that has reduced the sand eel population, a particularly bad development for surface-feeders like the kittiwake.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 7, 2018

At night, a black Bomber Long-A or similar swimming plug is employed as the "anchor," with a black, soft-plastic Red Gill sand eel imitation rigged on a short dropper loop tied in the leader.

From Time Magazine Archive

The lure kicks up sand, which mimics a sand eel burrowing into the bottom.

From Time Magazine Archive

The fish was evidently not enamoured of that delicate sand eel, for there was a good deal of head shaking for a few minutes.

From Lines in Pleasant Places Being the Aftermath of an Old Angler by Senior, William