iguana
Americannoun
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a large, arboreal lizard, Iguana iguana, native to Central and South America, having stout legs and a crest of spines from neck to tail.
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any of various related lizards of the genera Iguana, Ctenosaura, Conolophus, and Amblyrhynchus.
noun
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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
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Also called: iguanid. any other lizard of the tropical American family Iguanidae
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another name for leguaan
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of iguana
1545–55; < Spanish < Arawak iwana
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.
Vocabulary lists containing iguana
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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.
Discussing unmade films and dealing with an unruly pet iguana, Panahi renders an illuminating self-portrait.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 15, 2025
One of them stuck though - a report of an iguana stuck on the roof of a house.
From BBC • Oct. 3, 2025
They also collected X-ray videos from an iguana and an alligator and examined the shapes of leg bones in other birds, including a penguin, an ostrich, an owl, and a crane.
From Science Daily • Nov. 20, 2024
What is it about your dog, cat, fish or iguana that really brings you joy?
From Seattle Times • Mar. 8, 2024
That evening our instructors took pity on us and gave us something else to eat: chunks of iguana.
From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
