hellbender
Americannoun
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a large salamander, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, of rivers and streams in eastern North America, having a flat, stout body and broad head.
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Informal. a reckless or headstrong person.
noun
Etymology
Origin of hellbender
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.
Vegetation helps to prevent streambank erosion, keeping back salt-filled silt that changes the water chemistry and fills the gaps between gravel—where hellbender larvae live.
From Scientific American • Oct. 1, 2023
Biologists who study hellbender behavior had previously noted this form of infanticide on occasion.
From New York Times • Apr. 20, 2023
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources confirmed 3,500 dead fish in waterways as well as deceased hellbender salamanders, an endangered species in the state.
From Salon • Feb. 18, 2023
For his hellbender eDNA surveys, Spear used the two3 — a smartphone-based portable qPCR machine from Biomeme in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
From Nature • Jun. 24, 2019
I regret that I never saw a bear or wolf or followed the padding retreat of a giant hellbender salamander, never shooed away a bobcat or sidestepped a rattlesnake, never flushed a startled boar.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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.
