salamander

American  

[sal-uh-man-der] / ˈsæl əˌmæn dər /

noun

salamanders plural

1. any tailed amphibian of the order Caudata, having a soft, moist, scaleless skin, typically aquatic as a larva and semiterrestrial as an adult: several species are endangered.

2. a mythical being, especially a lizard or other reptile, thought to be able to live in fire.

3. any of various portable stoves or burners.

4. Metallurgy. a mass of iron that accumulates at the bottom of a blast furnace as a result of the escape of molten metal through the hearth.

5. a metal plate or disk with a handle, heated and held over pastry, casserole crusts, etc., to brown or glaze it.

6. an oven usually heated from the top and bottom by gas, for cooking, browning, and glazing food.

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salamander British  

/ ˈsæləˌmændə, ˌsæləˈmændrɪn /

noun

1. any of various urodele amphibians, such as Salamandra salamandra ( European fire salamander ) of central and S Europe (family Salamandridae ). They are typically terrestrial, have an elongated body, and only return to water to breed

2. any urodele amphibian

3. a mythical reptile supposed to live in fire

4. an elemental fire-inhabiting being

5. any person or thing able to exist in fire or great heat

6. metallurgy a residue of metal and slag deposited on the walls of a furnace

7. a portable stove used to dry out a building under construction

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Synonym Usage

See sylph.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• salamanderlike
  adjective
• salamandrine
  adjective
• salamandroid
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• salamanders
  plural

Etymology

Origin of salamander

1300–50; Middle English salamandre from Latin salamandra from Greek salamándrā

Explanation

A salamander is a small amphibian that looks a lot like a lizard and lives mainly on land. They look cute in a terrarium and less cute on your bathroom floor. Originally, the salamander was believed to have an amazing ability: that it could survive fire, and some said it lived in fire. That turned out to be a myth, but the salamander does possess the ability to live on land or in water, because it is an amphibian. Salamanders look a lot like lizards and a little like newts. They live most of the time on the land and only go into water when it's time to breed.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

salamander salamanders

Only five genera in the Cryptobranchidae family had previously been described, making the recognition of another genus an important addition to scientists' understanding of giant salamander diversity.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026

Mexicans have plenty of spiritual animalistic icons and regional exclusives that make sense, from the endangered axolotl salamander to Xoloitzcuintle, a hairless dog.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026

But like the axolotl, the salamander she studied, this program is critically endangered.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2025

Aztec legend has it that the creature is a god in salamander form - the Aztec god of fire and lightning, Xolotl, disguised as a salamander.

From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2025

I didn’t see a bear, didn’t see a salamander, didn’t see foxfire, didn’t see anything actually—just perpetual dribbles and droplets of rain adhering to my glasses.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

The other group continued laying eggs in water, giving rise to modern amphibians like frogs and salamanders.

From Science Daily ● May 1, 2026

Somewhat ironically, these charismatic salamanders are found in the world's laboratories and pet aquariums in their hundreds of thousands.

From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2025

Casa Apocalyptica is full of salamanders, birds, dragonflies and koi amid native plants and soothing water features.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2024

Frogs, salamanders and lungfish had far bigger genomes than humans did.

From New York Times ● May 31, 2024

As I stumbled out of the stall, my skin cold and sweaty, feeling like one of those eyeless white cave salamanders, Chas was there, still smirking, wiping his face, and watching me.

From "Winger" by Andrew Smith

Related Words

• frog
• toad