reptile

American  

[rep-tahyl, -til] / ˈrɛp taɪl, -tɪl /

noun

1. any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Reptilia, comprising the turtles, snakes, lizards, crocodilians, amphisbaenians, tuatara, and various extinct members including the dinosaurs.

2. (loosely) any of various animals that crawl or creep.

3. a groveling, mean, or despicable person.

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adjective

1. of or resembling a reptile; creeping or crawling.

2. groveling, mean, or despicable.

reptile British  

/ ˈrɛptaɪl /

noun

1. any of the cold-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Reptilia , characterized by lungs, an outer covering of horny scales or plates, and young produced in amniotic eggs. The class today includes the tortoises, turtles, snakes, lizards, and crocodiles; in Mesozoic times it was the dominant group, containing the dinosaurs and related forms

2. a grovelling insignificant person

   you miserable little reptile!

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adjective

1. creeping, crawling, or squirming

2. grovelling or insignificant; mean; contemptible

reptile Scientific  

/ rĕp′tīl′ /

1. Any of various cold-blooded vertebrates of the class Reptilia, having skin covered with scales or horny plates, breathing air with lungs, and usually having a three-chambered heart. Unlike amphibians, whose eggs are fertilized outside the female body, reptiles reproduce by eggs that are fertilized inside the female. Though once varied, widespread, and numerous, reptilian lineages, including the pterosaurs, ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and dinosaurs, have mostly become extinct (though birds are living descendants of dinosaurs). The earliest reptiles were the cotylosaurs (or stem reptiles) of the late Mississippian or early Pennsylvanian Period, from which mammals evolved. Modern reptiles include crocodiles, snakes, turtles, and lizards.

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Other Word Forms

• reptilelike adjective
• reptiloid adjective

Etymology

Origin of reptile

1350–1400; Middle English reptil < Late Latin rēptile, noun use of neuter of rēptilis creeping, equivalent to Latin rēpt ( us ) (past participle of rēpere to creep) + -ilis -ile

Example Sentences

Semi-natural grassland also continues to be lost, despite being seen as a priority habitat and vital for a whole range of plants, fungi, insects, ground-nesting birds, small mammals and reptiles.

From BBC

Or the time when she appeared next to Belichick on the sidelines on game day wearing a reptile mini-skirt and knee-high boots.

From BBC

It was unclear who exactly had been cursed, the lizard or the French, but a permanent-seeming curse it turned out to be, to the dismay of both reptile and country.

From Literature

Thrinaxodon belonged to a group called cynodonts, animals from the early Triassic period that show a mix of reptile and mammal traits.

From Science Daily

The reptile sure won millions of hearts when he was alive, but he was also remembered for stealing from a 12-year-old girl.

From BBC