amphibian

[ am-fib-ee-uh n ]

/ æmˈfɪb i ən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR amphibian ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

an amphibious plant.

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

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.

adjective

belonging or pertaining to the Amphibia.

amphibious(def 2).

Nearby words

amphiaraus, amphiarthrosis, amphiaster, amphibaric, amphibia, amphibian, amphibians, amphibiotic, amphibious, amphiblastic, amphiblastula

Origin of amphibian

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

Related forms

non·am·phib·i·an, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for amphibians

Over the next decade, the RETs wreaked havoc on the ecosystem, eating ducklings, small water birds, and other amphibians.
How the ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Inadvertently Caused an Environmental Crisis|Alex Suskind|August 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Some resemble insects, while others look like crustaceans, amphibians, and sharks and move fluidly.
Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Pacific Rim’ Is a Total Blast|Marlow Stern|July 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The amphibians collected by the American Museum expedition to Nicaragua in 1916.
The Biotic Associations of Cockroaches|Louis M. Roth
Most amphibians undergo a complete metamorphosis, or change of form, the young being unlike the adults.
A Civic Biology|George William Hunter

A distributional study of the amphibians of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec,México.
Natural History of Cottonmouth Moccasin, Agkistrodon piscovorus (Reptilia)|Ray D. Burkett
The fishes are followed by amphibians—then reptiles, then birds.
The Prehistoric World|E. A. Allen
Amphibians at first crudely able to cope with both sea and land.
Astounding Stories, May, 1931|Various

British Dictionary definitions for amphibians

amphibian

/ (æmˈfɪbɪən) /

noun

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

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

any vehicle able to travel on both water and land

adjective

another word for amphibious

of, relating to, or belonging to the class Amphibia

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Science definitions for amphibians

amphibian

[ ăm-fĭb′ē-ən ]

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.

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.

Culture definitions for amphibians

amphibians

[ (am-fib-ee-uhnz) ]

Vertebrate animals, such as frogs, that live part of their life cycle in the water and the other part on land.

Note

Amphibian is also used to describe things such as vehicles that can operate both on land and in the water.

Note

Amphibians were the first land-dwelling animals to evolve.