Illustration of crocodile
- crocodile 1a
crocodile
noun
croc·o·dile
ˈkrä-kə-ˌdī(-ə)l 
1
a
: any of several large, carnivorous, thick-skinned, long-bodied, aquatic reptiles (family Crocodylidae and especially genus Crocodylus) of tropical and subtropical waters that have a long, tapered, V-shaped snout
broadly
: crocodilian
b
: the skin or hide of a crocodile
2
chiefly British
: a line of people (such as schoolchildren) usually walking in pairs
Examples of crocodile in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Glide through Florida’s canyons at Ocala State Park, experience a sunset tour over Tampa Bay, soar over alligators and crocodiles in Orlando, or challenge yourself at one of the 10 aerial courses in Dade County.
—
Jp Shaffer, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2024
Kering stopped using animal fur, starting with Gucci, in 2017, but did not join Chanel when the luxury brand opted to to end its use of exotic skins from lizards, snakes and crocodiles.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2024
Wildlife viewing is stellar, including scarlet macaws, tapirs, jaguars and crocodiles.
—Roger Sands, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024
In the Everglades, alligators and crocodiles coexist (and are seen regularly), and the flora and fauna are so robust that this national park was the first set aside purely for its biodiversity.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 4 Feb. 2024
These seaside swamps would be familiar to us, filled with crocodiles, frogs and fish.
—Laura Helmuth, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2024
Beyond that, its teeth are quite fearsome-looking, protruding from the side of the jaw and sticking out the sides, like those of a crocodile.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 20 Mar. 2024
Gators and crocodiles both belong to a group of reptiles called crocodilians, according to the National Park Service.
—Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2024
While hovering over a beach in Australia, a drone captured footage of a dog’s close scrape with a crocodile lurking just offshore.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2024
Jp Shaffer, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2024
Kering stopped using animal fur, starting with Gucci, in 2017, but did not join Chanel when the luxury brand opted to to end its use of exotic skins from lizards, snakes and crocodiles.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2024
Wildlife viewing is stellar, including scarlet macaws, tapirs, jaguars and crocodiles.
—Roger Sands, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024
In the Everglades, alligators and crocodiles coexist (and are seen regularly), and the flora and fauna are so robust that this national park was the first set aside purely for its biodiversity.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 4 Feb. 2024
These seaside swamps would be familiar to us, filled with crocodiles, frogs and fish.
—Laura Helmuth, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2024
Beyond that, its teeth are quite fearsome-looking, protruding from the side of the jaw and sticking out the sides, like those of a crocodile.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 20 Mar. 2024
Gators and crocodiles both belong to a group of reptiles called crocodilians, according to the National Park Service.
—Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2024
While hovering over a beach in Australia, a drone captured footage of a dog’s close scrape with a crocodile lurking just offshore.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crocodile.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Crocodile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crocodile. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
crocodile
noun
croc·o·dile
ˈkräk-ə-ˌdīl
1
: any of several large thick-skinned long-bodied reptiles of tropical and subtropical waters compare alligator
2
: the skin or hide of a crocodile
Etymology
from Middle English cocodrille "crocodile," from early French cocodrille (same meaning), from Latin cocodrillus and earlier crocodilus "crocodile," from Greek krokodeilos "crocodile, lizard"
Word Origin
The word crocodile is taken from Greek krokodeilos, which is probably modified from a compound of krokē, "pebble, stone," and an obscure word drilos, which may have meant "worm." According to the ancient Greek writer Herodotus, some Greeks gave this name to the lizards that lived among the stone walls of their farms. When these Greeks visited Egypt, the enormous reptiles of the Nile River reminded them of the lizards and they applied the same name to them. (The more usual ancient Greek word for "lizard" was sauros, which we see in the Latin scientific names of many dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus, and in the word dinosaur itself.) The Romans took Greek krokodeilos into Latin as crocodilus. However, later speakers shifted the r from the first to the third syllable, giving cocodrilus or cocodrillus. It was this form that was taken into medieval French and later into Middle English as cocodrille. Later, as Englishmen became better acquainted with the classical Latin of ancient Rome, the English word was changed to better reflect Latin crocodilus, and cocodrille was eventually forgotten.
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