gecko

[ gek-oh ]

/ ˈgɛk oʊ /

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noun, plural geck·os, geck·oes.

any of numerous small, mostly nocturnal tropical lizards of the family Gekkonidae, usually having toe pads that can cling to smooth surfaces: the largest species, Gekko gecko, is sometimes kept as a pet.

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Origin of gecko

1705–15; <New Latin gekko<Dutch; origin uncertain; alleged to be a Malay word imitative of the lizard's call.

Words nearby gecko

gearwheel, Geb, Gêba, Geber, Gebrselassie, gecko, ged, gedact, Gedaliah, Gedanken experiment, Geddes

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

How to use gecko in a sentence

A handful of small, nocturnal geckos have spilled their guts for science, revealing how the creatures get by in a part of Earth’s hottest landscape.
Here’s how spider geckos survive on Earth’s hottest landscape|Jude Coleman|January 4, 2022|Science News
Instead of being all metal all the way through, this robot hand has semi-squishy fingertips, and each finger pad surface is made from a film of gecko adhesive supported by a rubber bone-like structure underneath.
Engineers created a robotic hand with a gecko-like grip|Charlotte Hu|December 16, 2021|Popular-Science
Stanford engineers hope to solve this problem with a new robotic hand designed with finger pads that can grip like a gecko.
Engineers created a robotic hand with a gecko-like grip|Charlotte Hu|December 16, 2021|Popular-Science
Now, genetically modified stem cells are helping geckos grow back better tails.
Gene-edited stem cells help geckos regrow more perfect tails|Freda Kreier|November 1, 2021|Science News

Unique skin patterns inspired names for some of the other newly described gecko species.
An agile gecko found in India named after the legendary Jackie Chan|Anne Pinto-Rodrigues|October 19, 2021|Science News
Locally this gecko is known as escorpin; the natives believe it to be deadly poisonous.
Amphibians and Reptiles of the Rainforests of Southern El Peten, Guatemala|William E. Duellman
Another quaint lizard, was what is generally known as the gecko.
Wanderings Among South Sea Savages And in Borneo and the Philippines|H. Wilfrid Walker
Although I am very fond of the nimble little gecko, I must admit that he is an out-and-out glutton.
Jungle Folk|Douglas Dewar
The lachrymal duct first appears in the tailed amphibians; in snakes and gecko lizards, however, it opens into the mouth.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 1|Various
The cry of the small house lizard, a kind of gecko, is unlucky in certain conditions.
Beast and Man in India|John Lockwood Kipling

British Dictionary definitions for gecko

gecko

/ (ˈɡɛkəʊ) /

noun plural -os or -oes

any small insectivorous terrestrial lizard of the family Gekkonidae, of warm regions. The digits have adhesive pads, which enable these animals to climb on smooth surfaces

Word Origin for gecko

C18: from Malay ge'kok, of imitative origin

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