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

Explanation

A reptile is a cold-blooded, scaly animal with a backbone. Lizards and turtles? Yep — both reptiles. Puppies and kittens? No way. There are many classes of animals. People are part of the mammal class. Another class is reptiles, which are all cold-blooded vertebrates (meaning they have backbones). Snakes, turtles, tortoises, lizards, alligators, chameleons, geckos, skinks, and crocodiles are all reptiles. You'll see plenty of reptiles at the zoo, and you'll see replicas of some at a natural history museum — since dinosaurs were reptiles!

Example Sentences

Not to belabor the reptile references, but Byrne is something of a creative chameleon, moving easily from drama to comedy to horror, film to television to stage and back again.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2026

Ewan Bodenham, 29, named the prehistoric reptile after his former physics teacher David Rhys Jones in Cardigan, Ceredigion.

From BBC • Feb. 17, 2026

He couldn't be here because, um, we're getting a bearded dragon, and he went to a reptile expo in New Jersey.

From BBC • Jan. 11, 2026

Among them is the so called Pinocchio chameleon, a reptile described for nearly 150 years.

From Science Daily • Dec. 13, 2025

After Congo, Calista picked the reptile house, which was warm warm warm—so warm that the glass in front of the snakes and turtles was half steamed up.

From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff