What does "eel" mean?
Any freshwater fish of the order Anguilliformes, which are elongated and resemble snakes.
Eel
/iːl/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Any freshwater fish of the order Anguilliformes, which are elongated and resemble snakes.
- Grammar: eel is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: anguillid fish, anguilliform fish, caviar, conger.
- Useful contrasts: honest person, straight shooter.
- Usage evidence: Holding an eel too fast is the way to let her escape.
How to use "eel"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "eel" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "eel" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "eel" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "eel" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "eel" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "anguillid fish" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "eel", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any freshwater fish of the order Anguilliformes, which are elongated and resemble snakes.
"Off the United States, the National Marine Fisheries Service is helping industry explore fisheries for deep shrimp, rattails, chimeras, orange roughy, smoothheads, slackjaw eels, blue hake, skates and dogfish, which the National Fisheries Institute, an industry group, in an effort to improve their marketability, has renamed cape shark."
- 2 voracious snakelike marine or freshwater fishes with smooth slimy usually scaleless skin and having a continuous vertical fin but no ventral fins wordnet
- 3 A European eel (Anguilla anguilla).
- 4 the fatty flesh of eel; an elongate fish found in fresh water in Europe and America; large eels are usually smoked or pickled wordnet
- 5 Various other animals that resemble true eels, chiefly in shape:; Other ray-finned fishes:; An electric eel (any knifefish of the genus Electrophorus)
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 Various other animals that resemble true eels, chiefly in shape:; Other ray-finned fishes:; In the order Synbranchiformes:; A swamp eel (any fish in the family Synbranchidae).
- 7 Various other animals that resemble true eels, chiefly in shape:; Other ray-finned fishes:; In the order Synbranchiformes:; An earthworm eel, also called the spineless eel (any fish in the family Chaudhuriidae).
- 8 Various other animals that resemble true eels, chiefly in shape:; Other ray-finned fishes:; In the order Synbranchiformes:; A spiny eel (any fish in the family Mastacembelidae).
- 9 Various other animals that resemble true eels, chiefly in shape:; Other ray-finned fishes:; A deep-sea spiny eel (any fish in the family Notacanthidae).
- 10 Various other animals that resemble true eels, chiefly in shape:; Certain amphibians:; A conger eel, also called the Congo eel, amphiuma, and Congo snake (any salamander of the genus Amphiuma).
- 11 Various other animals that resemble true eels, chiefly in shape:; Certain amphibians:; A two-legged eel, also called the mud eel and lesser siren, Siren intermedia.
- 12 Various other animals that resemble true eels, chiefly in shape:; Certain amphibians:; A leopard eel, also called the leopard siren and reticulated siren, Siren reticulata.
- 13 Various other animals that resemble true eels, chiefly in shape:; Certain amphibians:; A rubber eel, Typhlonectes natans.
- 14 Various other animals that resemble true eels, chiefly in shape:; A vinegar eel, a roundworm of species Turbatrix aceti.
- 15 Someone or something that is sneaky and/or hard to catch.
"That Dennis is a right eel, he always seems to slip away from the scene at the right time."
Verb
- 1 To fish for eels. intransitive
- 2 To move with a sinuous motion like that of an eel. intransitive
Proper Noun
- 1 A township in Cass County, Indiana, United States, probably named after the Eel River.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
honest personstraight shooter
Example
"Holding an eel too fast is the way to let her escape."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "eel"?
Common synonyms include: anguillid fish, anguilliform fish, caviar, conger, deceiver, eels.
How do you use "eel" in a sentence?
Holding an eel too fast is the way to let her escape.
How do you pronounce "eel"?
Pronounced /iːl/.
Etymology
From Middle English el (“eel”), from Old English ǣl (“eel”), from Proto-West Germanic *āl (“eel”), from Proto-Germanic *ēlaz (“eel”), which is of unknown origin. Cognates Cognate with West Frisian iel (“eel”), Dutch aal (“eel”), German Low German Aal, Ool (“eel”), German Aal (“eel”), Danish, Norn, Norwegian, and Swedish ål (“eel”), Faroese állur, álur (“eel”), Icelandic áll (“eel”).