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sand eel

noun
  1. sand lance.
  2. New Zealand. sandfish(def 2).
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Origin of sand eel

1275–1325; Middle English sandel; see sand, eel
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sand eel

Historical Examples

  • A northern term for the largest species of sand-launce or sand-eel.

    The Sailor's Word-Book

    William Henry Smyth

  • Also, a west-country term for the sand-eel, a capital bait for mackerel.

    The Sailor's Word-Book

    William Henry Smyth

  • "Easy fishing," said I, with a certain pity for the sand-eel.

  • The lead weight, about a yard from the sand-eel, should not be a heavy one.

    Gairloch In North-West Ross-Shire

    John H. Dixon, F.S.A. Scot

  • Once he saw a sand-eel dancing on his tail by the sea-shore.

British Dictionary definitions for sand eel

sand eel

sand lance

noun
  1. any silvery eel-like marine spiny-finned fish of the family Ammodytidae found burrowing in sand or shinglePopular name: launce
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012