reptile

American  

[rep-tahyl, -til] / ˈrɛp taɪl, -tɪl /

noun

• reptiles
  plural

1. any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Reptilia, comprising the turtles, snakes, lizards, crocodilians, amphisbaenians, tuatara, and various extinct members including the dinosaurs.

2. (loosely) any of various animals that crawl or creep.

3. a groveling, mean, or despicable person.

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adjective

1. of or resembling a reptile; creeping or crawling.

2. groveling, mean, or despicable.

reptile British  

/ ˈrɛptaɪl /

noun

1. any of the cold-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Reptilia , characterized by lungs, an outer covering of horny scales or plates, and young produced in amniotic eggs. The class today includes the tortoises, turtles, snakes, lizards, and crocodiles; in Mesozoic times it was the dominant group, containing the dinosaurs and related forms

2. a grovelling insignificant person

   you miserable little reptile!

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adjective

1. creeping, crawling, or squirming

2. grovelling or insignificant; mean; contemptible

reptile Scientific  

/ rĕp′tīl′ /

1. Any of various cold-blooded vertebrates of the class Reptilia, having skin covered with scales or horny plates, breathing air with lungs, and usually having a three-chambered heart. Unlike amphibians, whose eggs are fertilized outside the female body, reptiles reproduce by eggs that are fertilized inside the female. Though once varied, widespread, and numerous, reptilian lineages, including the pterosaurs, ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and dinosaurs, have mostly become extinct (though birds are living descendants of dinosaurs). The earliest reptiles were the cotylosaurs (or stem reptiles) of the late Mississippian or early Pennsylvanian Period, from which mammals evolved. Modern reptiles include crocodiles, snakes, turtles, and lizards.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• reptilelike
  adjective
• reptiloid
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• reptiles
  plural

Etymology

Origin of reptile

1350–1400; Middle English reptil < Late Latin rēptile, noun use of neuter of rēptilis creeping, equivalent to Latin rēpt ( us ) (past participle of rēpere to creep) + -ilis -ile

Explanation

A reptile is a cold-blooded, scaly animal with a backbone. Lizards and turtles? Yep — both reptiles. Puppies and kittens? No way. There are many classes of animals. People are part of the mammal class. Another class is reptiles, which are all cold-blooded vertebrates (meaning they have backbones). Snakes, turtles, tortoises, lizards, alligators, chameleons, geckos, skinks, and crocodiles are all reptiles. You'll see plenty of reptiles at the zoo, and you'll see replicas of some at a natural history museum — since dinosaurs were reptiles!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

reptile reptiles

Documents said the abandoned venture planned to include "reptile, mongoose and several animal enclosures".

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

"This fossil is the oldest known example of a largely complete digestive system in a reptile."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 29, 2026

The alarming reptile was “last seen in a tree within a residential neighborhood near Main Street and Edinger Avenue,” according to the department’s warning to the public.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026

There were two other sightings of the species in Orange County in January and November of 2018, said Greg Pauly, a reptile expert with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

It was some kind of reptile, its thick body covered in gray-green scales, its head wide and flat, its yellow eyes slitted.

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo

Working with the Zoological Society of London, WWF tracks nearly 36,000 populations of almost 6,000 species of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

He has also been fascinated by reptiles for most of his life and has long supported zoos, museums, and natural history.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

And while influential figures at last month's World Rowing congress in Amsterdam made occasional references to "safety", the presence of the reptiles was not their chief concern.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

New analysis techniques developed in recent years have provided strong evidence that theropods like T. rex, velociraptors and other two-legged dinosaurs were endothermic animals like mammals and birds, rather than cold-blooded, or exothermic, like reptiles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Elegant white stags roamed the streets like citizens, and reptiles big as men drifted in the river.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor