horned toad

British

noun

any small insectivorous burrowing lizard of the genus Phrynosoma, inhabiting desert regions of America, having a flattened toadlike body covered with spines: family Iguanidae (iguanas)

"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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He drew back, as though I were passing him an unwanted bill or possibly a horned toad.

From New York Times • Oct. 26, 2020

If issued, the plate, which would mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, would join dozens of specialty plates pushing causes ranging from supporting the arts to preserving the horned toad.

From Reuters • Aug. 16, 2011

And that is why scientists, save for Dr. William Temple Hornaday, for 30 years director of the New York Zoological Garden, disbelieved the story of the Eastland horned toad.

From Time Magazine Archive

So averred honest men who had just dug it out, and one remembered having planned to put a horned toad in the stone at its laying 31 years ago.

From Time Magazine Archive

Shocked, he froze in place when he saw the large horned toad standing on its hind legs and holding a glowing quartz crystal.

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023