crocodile

noun

croc·​o·​dile ˈkrä-kə-ˌdī(-ə)l How to pronounce crocodile (audio)
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

Illustration of crocodile

Illustration of crocodile
  • crocodile 1a

Examples of crocodile in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web 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 That’s higher than that of crocodiles and alligators, about the same as modern mammals and a bit lower than most birds, whose bodies can regularly get as warm as 104 F (40 C). Kristi Curry Rogers, The Conversation, 7 Mar. 2024 While the city is facing its own struggles with a broken barrage, heavy floods and an unexpected arrival of crocodiles in the Yamuna river, Rishu and Rani are trying their best to avoid attention and plan their escape for their happily ever after. Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Feb. 2024 Moreover, the new analyses have shown the presence of tiny bony scales called osteoderms—like the scales of crocodiles—on what perhaps was the back of the animal. David Bressan, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024 The dinosaur was almost mammal-like, standing on all fours with a hump on its back, fitting Owen’s idea that dinosaurs were advanced reptiles unlike today’s lizards and crocodiles. Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Feb. 2024 There was a handbag factory in Blackburn and a crocodile farm in Malaysia. Patrick Radden Keefe, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024 The new silver and crocodile sneaker was teased on Instagram with an up-close look at the details of the shoe. Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 5 Feb. 2024 The skin resembles a crocodile hide's pattern and texture, with its detail so well-preserved that individual scales pop along the various casts. Elizabeth Gamillo, Discover Magazine, 11 Jan. 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.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English & Latin; Middle English cocodrille, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin cocodrillus, alteration of Latin crocodilus, from Greek krokodilos lizard, crocodile, from krokē shingle, pebble + drilos worm; akin to Sanskrit śarkara pebble

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of crocodile was in 1555

Dictionary Entries Near crocodile

Cite this Entry

“Crocodile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crocodile. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

crocodile

noun
croc·​o·​dile ˈkräk-ə-ˌdīl How to pronounce crocodile (audio)
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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