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reptile
[ rep-tahyl, -til ]
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.
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 person
you miserable little reptile!
adjective
- creeping, crawling, or squirming
- grovelling or insignificant; mean; contemptible
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.
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Other Words From
- rep·tile·like adjective
- rep·ti·loid [rep, -tl-oid], adjective
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Word History and Origins
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Word History and Origins
Origin of reptile1
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Example Sentences
The new film ignored all previous sequels and put the giant reptile at the center of a cold war nuclear standoff.
Even reptile experts are puzzled, Christine Pelisek reports.
A reptile hatching from an egg must not cry out for its mother, or else it will be readily detected by predators and eaten.
In 1915 Thorpe started also playing and coaching the “reptile sport” of professional football in Canton, Ohio.
Pedestrians would take turtles for walks and let the reptile set the pace.
While searching the field Lawrence noticed some white object crawling along like a large reptile.
If you value your life, and that of your mother and her husband, avoid him as you would some venomous reptile.
It is much more distinguished and honorable to be a reptile than a dog, dont you think, Soldier?
The reptile only seemed to await a motion on Clifford's part to strike like a flash of lightning.
He left the guards at the fringes of his engineers' forest and rode the eight-legged reptile recklessly among the huge trunks.
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