lamprey
Americannoun
plural
lampreys-
any eellike marine or freshwater fish of the order Petromyzoniformes, having a circular, suctorial mouth with horny teeth for boring into the flesh of other fishes to feed on their blood.
noun
-
Also called: lamper eel. any eel-like cyclostome vertebrate of the family Petromyzonidae, having a round sucking mouth for clinging to and feeding on the blood of other animals See also sea lamprey
Etymology
Origin of lamprey
1250–1300; Middle English lampreye < Anglo-French *lampreie ( Old French lamproie ) < Late Latin lamprēda; replacing Old English lamprede < Medieval Latin lampreda
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A recent independent U.K. report on the nuclear sector found it would spare the lives of 0.028 sea trout, six river lamprey, 18 allis shad and 528 twaite shad every year.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025
Fish passage has also been opened for other species recorded in the river, including the critically endangered European eel as well as grayling, trout, lamprey, minnow, stone loach, and bullhead.
From BBC • Nov. 13, 2025
Surprisingly, it doesn't use these teeth to suck blood like most lamprey species -- it's non-parasitic.
From Science Daily • May 8, 2024
In contrast, no such cavities formed in the developing lamprey skeleton.
From Science Magazine • Apr. 25, 2024
Then came lamprey pie, honeyed ham, buttered carrots, white beans and bacon, and roast swan stuffed with mushrooms and oysters.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.