Dictionary.com

newt

[ noot, nyoot ]
/ nut, nyut /
Save This Word!

noun
any of several brilliantly colored salamanders of the family Salamandridae, especially those of the genera Triturus and Notophthalmus, of North America, Europe, and northern Asia.
any of various other small salamanders.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?

Origin of newt

1375–1425; late Middle English newte, for ewte (the phrase an ewte being taken as a newte;cf. nickname), variant of evet,Old English efeteeft1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use newt in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for newt

newt
/ (njuːt) /

noun
any of various small semiaquatic urodele amphibians, such as Triturus vulgaris (common newt) of Europe, having a long slender body and tail and short feeble legs
mainly British any other urodele amphibian, including the salamanders

Word Origin for newt

C15: from a newt, a mistaken division of an ewt; ewt, from Old English eveta eft 1
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
FEEDBACK