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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The outlet said there were 179 crocodile attacks in the country in 2024 — the highest number in the world. Toria Sheffield, People.com, 16 Aug. 2025 Germany’s State Museum of Natural History Karlsruhe returned the rare remains to Brazil in 2023 among a wave of similar high-profile repatriations, including a 56 million-year-old crocodile fossil that Morocco recovered from the United States. Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2025 During one of his hunts in Zambia, Rudolph claimed he was attacked by a crocodile, resulting in disability insurance payments of $30,000. Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2025 Perhaps the best element of the look are the shoes: brown, crocodile leather boots with a high stiletto heel, which Hathaway allows to peek out from the center slit of the skirt. Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 28 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for crocodile

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

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Cite this Entry

“Crocodile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crocodile. Accessed 28 Aug. 2025.

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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