noun
eel
eel
noun
1
A long, snake-like fish with a smooth body and no obvious scales.
"The fisherman pulled up an eel tangled in his net."
"Smoked eel is a traditional delicacy in parts of Europe."
2
Someone or something slippery and difficult to pin down or catch.
"The suspect was a real eel, always one step ahead of investigators."
How to Use Eel
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA long, slimy-looking fish shaped like a snake; figuratively, someone hard to catch or corner.
Common pairings
slippery as an eel
electric eel
jellied eels
Word Forms
eeled past tense, eels plural, eels singular
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The fisherman pulled up an _____ tangled in his net.
Etymology
From Old English ǣl, a very old Germanic word for the fish, related to similar words in Dutch, German, and the Scandinavian languages.