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

Illustration of crocodile

• crocodile 1a

Examples of crocodile in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Philipp Plein played with crocodile prints, monogram logos and crystals across the men’s denim range. —Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 9 Mar. 2026

But researchers who studied crocodiles at an outdoor recreation center near Cape Town appear to have poked a hole in that approach. —Regina G. Barber, NPR, 9 Mar. 2026

River dolphins and endangered Orinoco crocodiles ply its waterways, and over 1,000 freshwater fish and bird species can be found there. —Antonio MacHado Allison, The Conversation, 6 Mar. 2026

There are crocodiles, birds by the thousands, snakes, turtles, and many kinds of mammals. —Delbert L. Chears, Outdoor Life, 5 Mar. 2026

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

Phrases Containing crocodile

• crocodile bird
• crocodile tears

Rhymes for crocodile

• campanile
• chrysotile
• domicil
• domicile
• mercantile
• neuropil
• nonpareil
• percentile
• peristyle
• reconcile
• thermopile
• aisle

Kids 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.