hagfish

Plural: hagfish, hagfishes

Noun

• An ancient, eellike marine fish that produces slime as defense.
• eellike cyclostome having a tongue with horny teeth in a round mouth surrounded by eight tentacles; feeds on dead or trapped fishes by boring into their bodies
• Any of several primitive eellike fish, of the family Myxinidae, having a sucking mouth with rasping teeth, and sometimes used as food or for eelskin leather.

Examples

• Placing HAGFISH across the double letter score for the ’G’ was a tactical move in Scrabble.

Synonyms

hag, slime eels, borer, myxinid, myxinoid, slime eel