iguana

American  

[ih-gwah-nuh] / ɪˈgwɑ nə /

noun

• iguanas
  plural

1. a large, arboreal lizard, Iguana iguana, native to Central and South America, having stout legs and a crest of spines from neck to tail.

2. any of various related lizards of the genera Iguana, Ctenosaura, Conolophus, and Amblyrhynchus.

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iguana British  

/ ɪˈɡwɑːnə /

noun

1. either of two large tropical American arboreal herbivorous lizards of the genus Iguana, esp I. iguana ( common iguana ), having a greyish-green body with a row of spines along the back: family Iguanidae

2. Also called: iguanid. any other lizard of the tropical American family Iguanidae

3. another name for leguaan

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• iguanian
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• iguanas
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of iguana

1545–55; < Spanish < Arawak iwana

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Explanation

An iguana is a big lizard with distinctive spines running down its back. If you keep an iguana as a pet, you'll want to feed it a lot of fresh vegetables. Iguanas look a little intimidating, since they grow as large as six feet long to the tip of the tail and have a head that resembles a dinosaur. While pet iguanas can sometimes be somewhat aggressive, they can be tamed with enough handling. The word iguana is Spanish, and it comes from a West Indies language, Arawak, and its word for this particular kind of lizard, iwana.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

iguana iguanas

The receptionist gently explained the delay: There was one less bus running due to an incident involving a run-over iguana.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

Over the years, he shared cooking recipes for alligator, iguana, frog legs, smoked duck and a variety of other dishes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2025

One of them stuck though - a report of an iguana stuck on the roof of a house.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2025

A new iguana joins Asia's rich reptile fauna, officially described as new to science in the open-access journal ZooKeys.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 27, 2023

The guy was tied up on an iguana call, but his secretary promised he’d come to the construction site as soon as possible.

From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen

Alligators, iguanas, manatees—they’re all in the Sunshine State.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

The Galápagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador are famous for animals found nowhere else on Earth, including giant tortoises and marine iguanas.

From Science Daily ● May 25, 2026

On Friday, desert iguanas and whiptails scampered across an access road, portions of which wind through the national park.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026

Demand has doubled in recent years, with customers buying his moss for hanging baskets in spring and Christmas wreaths in winter, as well as vivariums to keep geckos and iguanas happy all year round.

From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2026

They were damp, stained with the muddy tracks of toads and iguanas.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago

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