amphibian

American  

[am-fib-ee-uhn] / æmˈfɪb i ən /

noun

• amphibians
  plural

1. any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Amphibia, comprising frogs and toads, newts and salamanders, and caecilians, the larvae being typically aquatic, breathing by gills, and the adults being typically semiterrestrial, breathing by lungs and through the moist, glandular skin.

2. an amphibious plant.

3. an airplane designed for taking off from and landing on both land and water.

4. Also called amtrac. a flat-bottomed, armed, military vehicle, equipped with both tracks and a rudder, that can travel either on land or in water, used chiefly for landing assault troops.

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adjective

1. belonging or pertaining to the Amphibia.

2. amphibious.

amphibian British  

/ æmˈfɪbɪən /

noun

1. any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Amphibia, typically living on land but breeding in water. Their aquatic larvae (tadpoles) undergo metamorphosis into the adult form. The class includes the newts and salamanders, frogs and toads, and caecilians

2. a type of aircraft able to land and take off from both water and land

3. any vehicle able to travel on both water and land

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adjective

1. another word for amphibious

2. of, relating to, or belonging to the class Amphibia

amphibian Scientific  

/ ăm-fĭb′ē-ən /

1. A cold-blooded, smooth-skinned vertebrate of the class Amphibia. Amphibians hatch as aquatic larvae with gills and, in most species, then undergo metamorphosis into four-legged terrestrial adults with lungs for breathing air. The eggs of amphibians are fertilized externally and lack an amnion. Amphibians evolved from lobe-finned fish during the late Devonian Period and include frogs, toads, newts, salamanders, and caecilians.

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Word History

Amphibians, not quite fish and not quite reptiles, were the first vertebrates to live on land. These cold-blooded animals spend their larval stage in water, breathing through their gills. In adulthood they usually live on land, using their lungs to breath air. This double life is also at the root of their name, amphibian, which, like many scientific words, derives from Greek. The Greek prefix amphi– means “both,” or “double,” and the Greek word bios means “life.” Both these elements are widely used in English scientific terminology: bios, for example, is seen in such words as biology, antibiotic, and symbiotic.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonamphibian
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• amphibians
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of amphibian

1630–40; < Latin amphibi ( a ), neuter plural of amphibius (adj.) ( see amphibious) + -an

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Explanation

An amphibian is a cold-blooded vertebrate animal that is born in water and breathes with gills. As the larva grows into its adult form, the animal's lungs develop the ability to breathe air, and the animal can live on land. Frogs, toads, and salamanders are all amphibians. The word amphibian comes from the Greek word amphibios, which means "to live a double life." The noun amphibian has its roots in the words amphi, meaning "of both kinds," and bios, meaning "life." The word is used for the class of animals that spend part of their lives in water and part on land. The word can also be used as an adjective to describe the animals that live this way. You might be interested to know that the largest amphibian weighs about 140 pounds and the smallest weighs only a few grams.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

amphibian amphibians

"Many teeth from Saurichthys were once mistaken for those of an amphibian, and that misunderstanding continued well into the 20th Century," said Museum Wales curator Cindy Howells.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

Researchers in Los Angeles have made a ribbiting new discovery at the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum — an extinct amphibian from the ice age.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

Scientists have uncovered why some amphibian populations rebound after being devastated by a deadly fungal disease that has wiped out frogs and toads around the world.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

The team focused on antimicrobial peptides, which are natural chemicals released from amphibian skin that serve as an important part of their immune system.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

I make a drawing of the inside of the frog, with all its curlicues and bulbs, its tiny lungs, its cold-blooded amphibian heart.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

Backshall studied at Canterbury Christ Church, carrying out research into venoms from amphibians, and later received an honorary doctorate from the university.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

These were even thought to be from amphibians well into the 20th Century, rather than the fish that experts now know they were.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

By examining how amphibians responded to those ancient changes, researchers may also gain insight into how similar animals could respond to human caused climate change today.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

By determining where particular amphibians were present or absent, researchers can reconstruct environmental changes at a more local scale.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

She had planned a second Surinam book with illustrations of other amphibians and reptiles, but could not manage it financially.

From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman

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Related Words

• frog
• salamander
• toad

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