What does "sand eel" mean?

Any of various species of slim fish, resembling eels, especially of the family Ammodytidae.

What is a synonym for "sand eel"?

Common synonyms include: launce, sand lance, sand launce.

Sand eel

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
Any of various species of slim fish, resembling eels, especially of the family Ammodytidae.
"In short, this means sandeels, the small, oily fish that are a staple diet for many seabirds, need to be in the right place at the right time for puffins to be able to feed their chicks."
2
very small silvery eellike schooling fishes that burrow into sandy beaches wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

launce sand lance sand launce

Example

More examples

"In short, this means sandeels, the small, oily fish that are a staple diet for many seabirds, need to be in the right place at the right time for puffins to be able to feed their chicks."

Etymology

From Middle English sandeel, sandell, sandel, equivalent to sand + eel. Cognate with German Sandaal (“sand eel”), Danish sandål (“sand eel”).

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