iguana

[ ih-gwah-nuh ]

/ ɪˈgwɑ nə /

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noun

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

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

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Origin of iguana

1545–55; <Spanish <Arawak iwana

Words nearby iguana

ignotum per ignotius, Igorot, Igraine, Iguaçú, Iguaçú Falls, iguana, iguanid, iguanodon, Iguassú, Iguassú Falls, Iguazú

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use iguana in a sentence

The species was named after a green pet iguana, Feiruz, who the study described as the “muse and lifelong friend” of Catherine Thomson, a Michigan resident who financially supports biodiversity and conservation research.
This rainbow-scaled lizard lived anonymously in the Andes—until now|Grace Wade|September 6, 2021|Popular-Science
Neither pythons nor green iguanas made the Sunshine State their home until we brought them there as pets.
Unfortunately, we like pets that are likely to be invasive species|John Timmer|March 26, 2021|Ars Technica
The team was looking for Liolaemus lizards, also known as tree iguanas, and found them as the researchers climbed above 5,000 meters.
A mountain lizard in Peru broke the reptilian altitude record|Jake Buehler|February 23, 2021|Science News
It’s like an iguana, a reptile that stays streamlined in the water by tucking its front legs under its belly when it swims.
This fast French military boat can crawl from water to land without wheels|Christina Mackenzie|February 3, 2021|Popular-Science

Williams would have only one more commercial success, Night of the Iguana in 1961, after his partnership with Kazan ended.
John Lahr’s Biography Perfectly Captures Tennessee Williams’ Tortured Greatness|Wendy Smith|September 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Mid-90s Gallic nuclear testing is blamed for mutating a native iguana species of Tahiti.
A Comprehensive History of Toho’s Original Kaiju (and Atomic Allegory) Godzilla|Rich Goldstein|May 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Outside the CNN Grill, a lone iguana even found time for sunbathing.
Tropical Storm Isaac Sidelines Media Elite at the Republican Convention|Lauren Ashburn|August 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Again and again the snake bites the iguana, and as often the latter has recourse to the counteracting influences of the antidote.
The Adventures of Louis de Rougemont|Louis de Rougemont
Certain reptiles are used as food by people of other nationalities, the Iguana, a Mexican lizard, being an example.
A Civic Biology|George William Hunter
“This we call an iguana,” said the hermit as he piled a number of heavy stones on the carcase to preserve it from other animals.
Martin Rattler|R.M. Ballantyne
Although Iguana iguana rhinolopha is arboreal, it lives in trees along rivers, into which it plunges upon being disturbed.
Amphibians and Reptiles of the Rainforests of Southern El Peten, Guatemala|William E. Duellman
The iguana, as this lizard is called locally, seems to be uncommon in the forested areas of southern El Petn.
Amphibians and Reptiles of the Rainforests of Southern El Peten, Guatemala|William E. Duellman

British Dictionary definitions for iguana

iguana

/ (ɪˈɡwɑːnə) /

noun

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

Also called: iguanid (ɪˈɡwɑːnɪd) any other lizard of the tropical American family Iguanidae

another name for leguaan

Derived forms of iguana

iguanian, noun, adjective

Word Origin for iguana

C16: from Spanish, from Arawak iwana

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