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

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

"If the sand eel does not reproduce well this year because of the oil, the birds could be devastated."

From Time Magazine Archive

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

So far had I noted when the left rod, upon which the fly had been replaced by a sand eel, strained for a gallant run.

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