sand eel

noun

sand lance.

New Zealand. sandfish(def 2).

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for sand eel

Historical Examples of sand eel

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.
An Unsentimental Journey through Cornwall
Dinah Maria Craik
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.
In the Wrong Paradise
Andrew Lang

British Dictionary definitions for sand eel

sand eel

sand lance

noun

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

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