anole

noun ano·le \ ə-ˈnō-lē \

|Updated on: 27 May 2018

Definition of anole

: any of a genus (Anolis) of arboreal American lizards (such as the American chameleon) of the iguana family that have a brightly colored dewlap and the ability to change color

Recent Examples of anole from the Web

In the absence of trees the anoles had been using boulders to sun themselves and to display in search of mates.

— geoffrey giller, Scientific American, "Island Lizards Shift to Evolutionary Fast-Track after Invasive Goats and Rats Are Eradicated," 30 Apr. 2018
Peterson said, before pulling out the green anole lizard.

— dave quinn, PEOPLE.com, "Stephen Colbert Gets Bitten by a Lizard on the Late Show: 'That Wasn't Very Painful'," 21 Apr. 2018
For the past two years, more than 1,000 anole lizards from six Caribbean islands have populated rows of tall, narrow, and extremely humid tanks on campus.

— cristela guerra, BostonGlobe.com, "Harvard University has an underground lizard colony," 28 Feb. 2018
Geneva said anoles lay a single egg every one to two weeks.

— cristela guerra, BostonGlobe.com, "Harvard University has an underground lizard colony," 28 Feb. 2018
For the record, she has been bitten by an octopus, an anole lizard, wild mice, voles and a cardinal.

— corey kilgannon, New York Times, "The Pigeon Stalker," 8 Mar. 2018
Other invasive species in Florida like geckos, Burmese pythons, brown anoles, and Cuban tree frogs similarly struggle during cold snaps.

— sarah gibbens, National Geographic, "Florida Is 'Raining Iguanas.' Will The Invasive Reptiles Adapt?," 5 Jan. 2018
Green anoles are brightly colored lizards that can easily switch their coloration from green to brown.

— elizabeth pennisi, Science | AAAS, "Cold snap makes lizards evolve in just a few months," 3 Aug. 2017
The green anole lizard looks like a skinny, four-legged lime.

— karla peterson, sandiegouniontribune.com, "From hometown lizards to invader parrots, a guide to Living Coast Discovery Center's new exhibit," 12 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'anole.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.