lizard

noun

liz·​ard ˈli-zərd 

1

: any of a suborder (Lacertilia) of reptiles distinguished from the snakes by a fused inseparable lower jaw, a single temporal opening, two pairs of well differentiated functional limbs which may be lacking in burrowing forms, external ears, and eyes with movable lids

broadly : any relatively long-bodied reptile (such as a crocodile or dinosaur) with legs and tapering tail

2

: leather made from lizard skin

Examples of lizard in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Of course there's the little lizard, the thinking machine, that was VFX. —Ars Technica, 23 Dec. 2024

The lizards are showing huge signs of improvement, with their population increasing roughly 16 times in six years. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 19 Dec. 2024

The animals most affected included large lizards like land mullets and eastern water dragons and snakes like the red-bellied blacksnake. —Scott Travers, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024

Known for being the largest and heaviest lizards on earth, Komodo dragons can reach up to 10 feet in length and weigh over 300 pounds. —Diana Leyva, The Tennessean, 8 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English liserd, from Anglo-French lesarde, from Latin lacerta

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing lizard

• beaded lizard
• horned lizard
• lizard's tail
• lounge lizard
• monitor lizard
• thunder lizard

Kids Definition

lizard

noun

liz·​ard ˈliz-ərd 

: any of a group of reptiles that can be told apart from the related snakes by their lower jaw which has the two halves joined and inseparable, by ears which are outside the body, by eyes with movable lids, and usually by two pairs of functional limbs