caiman

[ key-muhn ]

/ ˈkeɪ mən /

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noun, plural cai·mans.

any of several tropical American crocodilians of the genus Caiman and allied genera: some are endangered.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Also cay·man .

Origin of caiman

First recorded in 1570–80; from Spanish caimán, from Carib

Words nearby caiman

CAI, Caiaphas, Caicos Islands, caid, cailleach, caiman, caiman lizard, cain, Cain and Abel, Caine, Caingang

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use caiman in a sentence

When the team analyzed 138 scat samples, the researchers found 55 percent had fish remains in them and 46 percent contained aquatic reptiles, such as caiman or turtles.
Huge numbers of fish-eating jaguars prowl Brazil’s wetlands|Jake Buehler|October 13, 2021|Science News
Ours is the Caiman model, a 6x6 behemoth that weighs in at over 15 tons and makes Humvees shrivel up with feelings of inadequacy.
Why Does My Kids’ Elementary School Need a Tank?|Andy Hinds|September 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Caiman offers a range of option packages, from bristling-with-machine-guns, to monster-truck-field-hospital.
Why Does My Kids’ Elementary School Need a Tank?|Andy Hinds|September 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On another trip, a defiant caiman (a South American crocodile) devours his mosquito net.
Exploring the Amazon, While We Still Can|Darrell Hartman|May 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The crocodiles of the American continent form a distinct genus, sometimes designated Alligator, and sometimes Caiman.
The Desert World|Arthur Mangin
The local name "caiman" refers to both Crocodylus and to Caiman, for, in general, the natives do not distinguish between the two.
The Amphibians and Reptiles of Michoacn, Mxico|William E. Duellman
Peters (1954:10) refuted Gadow's record on the basis that Gadow's collections contained no specimens of Caiman.
The Amphibians and Reptiles of Michoacn, Mxico|William E. Duellman
It differs from the caiman by having a bony septum between its nostrils, and its ventral scutes are thinly, if at all, ossified.
The Sin of Monsieur Pettipon|Richard Connell
At noon she came to an anchor in a small bay, northward of the Hocico de Caiman.
Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle, between the years 1826 and 1836|Robert FitzRoy

British Dictionary definitions for caiman

caiman

/ (ˈkeɪmən) /

noun plural -mans

a variant spelling of cayman

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