any of numerous scaly reptiles of the suborder Sauria, order Squamata, typically having a moderately elongate body, a tapering tail, and two pairs of legs held outward from the body, comprising mostly terrestrial and burrowing species.
any of various reptiles resembling a lizard, as a dinosaur or crocodile.
leather made from the skin of the lizard, used for shoes, purses, etc.
Astronomy. Lizard, the constellation Lacerta.
Older Slang, lounge lizard.
Nautical. a pennant used as a leader for running rigging, having a thimble or bull's-eye.
The Lizard. Lizard Head.
any reptile of the suborder Lacertilia (or Sauria ), esp those of the family Lacertidae (Old World lizards), typically having an elongated body, four limbs, and a long tail: includes the geckos, iguanas, chameleons, monitors, and slow worms
leather made from the skin of such an animal
( as modifier )
a lizard handbag
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English liserd, variant of lesard(e), from Middle French lesarde, from Latin lacerta
A lizard is a type of reptile that has scales for skin, a long body, a pointy tail, and usually four legs. And they breathe fire. Okay, maybe not that last part, but that would be awesome. Lizards can be smaller than an inch long, or massive in size and weight — like the Komodo dragon, which can grow over ten feet in length. A type of lizard called a chameleon can change colors whenever it wants, and the Jesus lizard can walk on water. Most lizards live in deserts or jungles, however the word lizard comes from the Latin lacertus, which means “sea fish” — perhaps because they look like a monster that crawled out of the ocean.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The newly identified lizard appears to occupy only a narrow zone of high-altitude forest.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026
In 2024, the Biden administration added the dunes sagebrush lizard to the endangered species list after years of advocacy from environmental groups like the Center for Biological Diversity.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
Yet the lizard brain making you gawk is shrieking.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
The village churchyard has become a haven for local wildlife - in particular slow worms, a non-venomous species of legless lizard often mistaken for snakes.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
"I'm not a lizard anymore. I'm a boy again."
From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry
The charity said the Lizard was the prime breeding ground for the Cornish chough with 26 chicks, 11 more than 2025, emerging from eight nests on the peninsula.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Besides the main storyline and a dull, time-padding smuggling operation to uncover, there’s little to do for the rest of the Broken Lizard team: Paul Soter, Eric Stolhanske and Steve Emme.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
The 52-year-old grew up in small-town British Columbia and spent a decade playing center for hockey teams around the world, including Florida’s Jacksonville Lizard Kings and the Manitoba Moose.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 20, 2025
The next day it reached Lizard Island - also known as Jiigurru or Dyiigurra - in the northern area of the Great Barrier Reef for the first stop on the journey.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2025
"However," as Deborah Cadbury notes in her excellent history of the period, Terrible Lizard, "this piece of work was not quite as original as it appeared."
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
From the director of ‘Tiger King,’ a new docuseries examines the cold-blooded, illegal trade in lizards and the like in the 1980s and the lives of those who facilitated it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
The site is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is recognised for its internationally important raised bog habitat, which supports a range of wildlife including adders and common lizards.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
They found Madagascar "hissing" cockroaches, a bulky insect named for its noisy defence mechanism, and dubia cockroaches, an invasive critter bred as a snack for pet lizards.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
People working with Perez would collect the reptiles including Mexican box turtles and Mexican beaded lizards, at from an airport in Ciudad Juárez, then move them by car over the border to El Paso.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
Voxy lies on his back, staring through his visor up at the little flying lizards in the canopy.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
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.
