Gila monster

American  

noun

1. a large, venomous lizard, Heloderma suspectum, of the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico, covered with beadlike scales of yellow, orange, and black.

---

Gila monster British  

/ ˈhiːlə /

noun

1. a large venomous brightly coloured lizard, Heloderma suspectum, inhabiting deserts of the southwestern US and Mexico and feeding mostly on eggs and small mammals: family Helodermatidae

---

Etymology

Origin of Gila monster

1875–80, after Gila

Example Sentences

The man, Christopher Ward, 34, died on Feb. 16 “due to complications of Gila monster envenomization,” said the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office autopsy report, which also cited heart and liver problems as contributing factors.

From New York Times • Mar. 16, 2024

Owner Jay Young counts himself among Gila monster fans.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 21, 2024

Instead of the human hormone, its backbone was, improbably, a similar peptide in the venom of a giant lizard, the Gila monster.

From Science Magazine • Dec. 13, 2023

Calder said the fossilized creature was probably similar in appearance to a Gila monster.

From Washington Post • Sep. 2, 2022

In another cage a Gila monster with a skin like a beaded bag reared slowly up and clawed heavily and sluggishly at the wire.

From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck