gator
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of gator
An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; shortened form
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.
See Examples For:
The AI tool shares its name, Claude, with a 30-year-old albino gator that’s become a local celebrity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2025
One woman on Hilton Head told the Island Packet newspaper that she looked out her window to find she had a pool crasher - a small gator enjoying the shallow end.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2024
This is Louis, the friendly trumpet-blasting gator from Walt Disney Animation’s 2009 film “The Princess and the Frog.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2024
Wally’s popularity soared to new heights last year when the gator was denied entry to a Philadelphia Phillies game.
From Seattle Times ● May 1, 2024
“I’m not so sure what you two find so funny about alligator eating habits. Lying across the road playing possum is how that gator hunts.”
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
Florida has about 1.3 million alligators, and it is a crime to kill them, although the state euthanizes some 7,000 gators a year to reduce the risk of attacks on humans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
The tourists couldn’t believe they were out in the wild with the gators; they crouched down and posed for selfies next to them.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2025
It’s illegal in Georgia for people to keep alligators without a special license or permit, and the state Department of Natural Resources says it doesn’t grant permits for pet gators.
From Seattle Times ● May 1, 2024
Jennifer Dean told 10 Tampa Bay: "It's crazy. My kids walk by there all the time. So it's really scary. I've seen four or five-feet gators but nothing that big."
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2023
“Nothing much there but bugs and gators and a few folks scraping the dirt to make do. My mother is dead. My father as well.”
From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper
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.
