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reptile

[ rep-til, -tahyl ]
/ ˈrɛp tɪl, -taɪl /

noun

any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Reptilia, comprising the turtles, snakes, lizards, crocodilians, amphisbaenians, tuatara, and various extinct members including the dinosaurs.
(loosely) any of various animals that crawl or creep.
a groveling, mean, or despicable person.

adjective

of or resembling a reptile; creeping or crawling.
groveling, mean, or despicable.

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Words related to reptile

cur, toad, coward, rascal, louse, slink, dastard, cheater, snake, informer, skunk, scoundrel, wretch, heel, weasel

Words nearby reptile

reproval, reprove, rept, rept., reptant, reptile, reptiles, reptilia, reptilian, reptilium, repton

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

OTHER WORDS FROM reptile

rep·tile·like, adjectiverep·ti·loid [rep-tl-oid] /ˈrɛp tlˌɔɪd/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for reptiles

British Dictionary definitions for reptiles

reptile
/ (ˈrɛptaɪl) /

noun

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
a grovelling insignificant personyou miserable little reptile!

adjective

creeping, crawling, or squirming
grovelling or insignificant; mean; contemptible

Word Origin for reptile

C14: from Late Latin reptilis creeping, from Latin rēpere to crawl
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

Science definitions for reptiles

reptile
[ rĕp′tīl′ ]

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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Culture definitions for reptiles

reptiles

A class of scaly vertebrates that usually reproduce by laying eggs. Lizards, snakes, turtles, and alligators are reptiles. Reptiles are cold-blooded animals.

notes for reptiles

The dinosaurs were reptiles.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.