caiman

American  

[kay-muhn] / ˈkeɪ mən /

Also cayman

noun

• caimans
  plural

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

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caiman British  

/ ˈkeɪmən /

noun

1. a variant spelling of cayman

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• caimans
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of caiman

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

caiman caimans

He observed tigers in India’s Madhya Pradesh, jaguars and caiman in Brazil’s Pantanal and giant pandas in the Chinese province of Sichuan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

This new analysis of the marks revealed that they most closely match an extinct caiman species called Purussaurus neivensis, a crocodilian that would have been up to five metres long.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2025

All of the hides were from caiman and pythons bred in captivity.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 22, 2024

The costumes of the cachaceros, representing Africans, are phantasmagoric confections of old jaguar pelts, caiman skulls and peccary teeth.

From New York Times ● Jan. 16, 2024

Under one of the adult caiman’s rear legs, a baby caiman hatches from its egg, and to the left is a coral snake egg.

From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman

Fish such as wolf fish, peacock bass, and South American lungfish were especially common, accompanied by reptiles including caimans and turtles, and mammals such as capybaras, pacas, and armadillos.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 30, 2025

Gonzalez, 71, broke an international treaty by illegally importing bags made from caimans and pythons.

From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2024

Some parts of the river look like a swamp, with shallow, dark water full of caimans.

From Science Magazine ● Dec. 22, 2021

While the biome regenerates quickly, unlike rainforest, fires often kill local wildlife, such as jaguars, caimans and giant otters.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 5, 2021

However, I was under no apprehensions from wild animals; crocodiles and caimans never haunt the open coast, but keep in creeks and lagoons; and there are no other ravenous beasts on the island.

From Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume II (Commodore B. Von Wullerstorf-Urbair,) Undertaken by Order of the Imperial Government in the Years 1857, 1858, & 1859, Under the Immediate Auspices of His I. and R. Highness the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, Commander-In-Chief of the Austrian Navy. by Karl Ritter von Scherzer

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