: any of numerous voracious elongate snakelike bony fishes (order Anguilliformes) that have a smooth slimy skin, lack pelvic fins, and have the median fins confluent around the tail compare american eel
b
: any of numerous other elongate fishes (as of the order Synbranchiformes)
2
: any of various nematodes (such as the vinegar eel)
: to move or make (one's way) sinuously or insidiously : worm
Stories my Russian friends had told me about the hundreds who were trampled at Stalin's funeral came back to me. Finally, we gave up and eeled our way out of there. Ian Frazier
Did you know?
There are more than 500 fish species known as eels. They are slender, elongated, and usually scaleless, with long dorsal and anal fi ns that are continuous around the tail tip. Eels are found in all seas, from coastal regions to the mid-depths. Freshwater eels are active, predatory fish with small embedded scales. They grow to maturity in freshwater and return to the sea, where they spawn and die. The transparent young drift to the coast and make their way upstream. Freshwater eels, considered valuable food fish, include species ranging from 4 in (10 cm) to about 111⁄2 ft (3.5 m) long.
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
After the efforts produced record eel populations, the state is planning to expand this effort by building a way for the eels to get across the dam themselves.Washington Post, 15 Sep. 2021 Although shark in name, these animals swim in a distinctly serpentine fashion, much like an eel. Courtney Linder, Popular Mechanics, 17 Aug. 2022 Disfrutar's creative menu includes a bun stuffed with caviar and sour cream as well as pesto served with pistachios and eel. Charles Trepany, USA TODAY, 20 July 2022 Unlike fatty pigs, bony chickens, and sinewy monkeys, eel meat was almost all soft skeletal muscle. Manvir Singh, Wired, 14 July 2022 Housed in a former 11th-century hospital, the coastal winery and boutique hotel has a new gastronomic restaurant, L'Art de Vivre, that features seasonal and organic produce as well as Aubrac beef and eel from nearby Étang de l'Ayrolle in Gruissan. Terry Ward, CNN, 7 July 2022 At Kodō, which seats about 80 people (not counting a fire pit in the back where guests can gather for drinks), Takahashi is offering omakase sushi but also cooking deeply funky eel-liver skewers and whole scallops with their liver and roe. Andy Wang, Robb Report, 28 May 2022 Mount hopes that resilience will keep eel numbers growing in coming years. Lela Nargi, Washington Post, 24 May 2022 Tobler, who goes by @cowturtle, has amassed 205,000 followers who tune into his TIkTok channel to watch his eel daddy adventures. Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 13 May 2022
Verb
With his brother-in-law as president, Mr. Saint-Rémy wielded enormous influence, often demanding that choice licenses and contracts be awarded to him, particularly eel export licenses, according to officials in Mr. Martelly’s government.New York Times, 12 Dec. 2021 These men eel entitled and had been protected from being outed. James Warren, vanityfair.com, 20 Oct. 2017 These men eel entitled and had been protected from being outed. James Warren, The Hive, 20 Oct. 2017 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English ele, from Old English ǣl; akin to Old High German āl eel
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a