Komodo dragon

American

[kuh-moh-doh] / kəˈmoʊ doʊ /

noun

a monitor lizard, Varanus komodoensis, of certain Indonesian islands E of Java, that grows to a length of 10 feet (3 meters): the largest lizard in the world; now rare.

Komodo dragon British

/ kəˈməʊdəʊ /

noun

the largest monitor lizard, Varanus komodoensis, of Komodo and other East Indian islands: grows to a length of 3 m (about 10 ft) and a weight of 135 kilograms (about 300 lbs.)

"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

Etymology

Origin of Komodo dragon

First recorded in 1925–30; named after Komodo, Indonesian island, its principal range

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.

Ruth Negga gets several monologues to chew on in this episode, from another glimpse at the incident with Carlos to a story of how Jesse once shot a komodo dragon in the head.

From The Guardian • Jun. 26, 2016

One tourist got a nightmarish surprise during a recent trip to Bangkok when he filmed what he says was a “huge” komodo dragon slithering through a storm drain.

From Time • Jul. 21, 2015

His aim is bad, but he has terrifying back-up in the shape of a komodo dragon named Mary.

From The Guardian • Jan. 14, 2013

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