goanna

American  

[goh-an-uh] / goʊˈæn ə /

noun

1. any of the several large monitor lizards of the family Varanidae, of Australia, especially Varanus varius and V. giganteus, both sometimes growing to 6 feet (1.8 meters).

---

goanna British  

/ ɡəʊˈænə /

noun

1. any of various Australian monitor lizards

2. slang a piano

---

Etymology

Origin of goanna

First recorded in 1795–1805; aphetic form of iguana

Example Sentences

At control sites which did not introduce the small 'taster toads' before the larger, highly poisonous adult cane toads arrived, goanna populations plummeted by up to 94 per cent.

From Science Daily • Apr. 9, 2024

"The price today or even in the near term isn't really his focus, the focus is where's the price goanna be in the in the future."

From Reuters • Sep. 14, 2023

As a boy, Mr. Rowlands, the park ranger, hunted for “bush tucker” after school, catching wild goanna, the native monitor lizards, and snakes to cook over a pit of hot ash like his Aboriginal ancestors.

From New York Times • Aug. 1, 2016

Other hissing lizards include the Australian blue-tongued skink and the goanna, an Australian monitor lizard that inflates flaps of skin around the throat to make its warning sound.

From National Geographic • Oct. 24, 2015

Peace was restored on the presentation to him of the all-healing gall; and then Hamed apologised, almost tearfully, explaining, "That goanna, when you chuck heem, close broke heart of me!"

From My Tropic Isle by Banfield, E. J. (Edmund James)