reptile

American  

[rep-tahyl, -til] / ˈrɛp taɪl, -tɪl /

noun

• reptiles
  plural

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.

---

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!

---

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.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• reptilelike
  adjective
• reptiloid
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• reptiles
  plural

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

See Examples For:

reptile reptiles

“Law enforcement has good intentions but they sometimes backfire with unintended consequences. Often, the more laws you create to prevent people from having a reptile, the more they want them. But sometimes prohibition does work.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

"The family asked us to help via Facebook," said volunteer Charlotte Darribat, as she fed the reptile near upturned sunchairs and strewn clothes in the town of Lege-Cap-Ferret.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

Alongside a tiny, neat sketch of the fossil dated 9 December 1985 he has written "vertebra of large reptile", noting it was about 10cm wide.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

After the crocodile ate a bird that had flown in, staff moved the reptile outside and used cinder blocks to weigh down the grate keeping it closed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026

Television cameras were set up in the Electronic Learning Center so spectators, in the library and at home, could watch the great flying reptile race.

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

The same fragility may also mean that many extinct reptiles and amphibians have disappeared from the fossil record entirely.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

In recent years, customs officials have repeatedly intercepted passengers arriving from south-east Asia with live reptiles, birds and primates concealed in their luggage.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

This suggests that these reptiles were more widely distributed across the world during the Triassic than the fossil record indicated.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026

Insects, reptiles, trees, lichens and mosses have been killed.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

Small reptiles and rodents burrow or slide below the surface or cling to the shaded side of an outcropping.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck