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Definition of sea lamprey
sea lamprey
Plural:sea lampreys
sea lamprey Lexical Profile
CEFR
C1
Grade
8
Tier
3
Usage
Rare
• noun
1
A large, parasitic jawless fish native to the northern Atlantic Ocean and inland seas, characterized by its eel-like body and a circular, tooth-lined suction mouth used to feed on the blood and body fluids of other fish.
Example
"The invasion of the sea lamprey in the Great Lakes during the 20th century caused severe devastation to the native lake trout population."
Synonyms
View all synonyms for sea lampreyWord Origin & Etymology
A compound of 'sea' (Old English 'sǣ') and 'lamprey' (from Old French 'lamproie', ultimately from Medieval Latin 'lampetra', meaning 'stone-licker', referring to its habit of attaching to rocks).
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.
180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer
Cite this Entry
Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Sea lamprey. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Oct 15, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/sea lamprey