lizard

noun

liz·​ard ˈli-zərd 

1

: any of a suborder (Lacertilia) of reptiles distinguished from the snakes by a fused inseparable lower jaw, a single temporal opening, two pairs of well differentiated functional limbs which may be lacking in burrowing forms, external ears, and eyes with movable lids

broadly : any relatively long-bodied reptile (such as a crocodile or dinosaur) with legs and tapering tail

2

: leather made from lizard skin

Examples of lizard in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The lizards will be humanely killed or transferred to permittees for live animal sales, FWC said in a news release Friday. —Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 31 Jan. 2026

All of the zoo's giant land tortoises and lizards that have access to the outdoors will be secured indoors in a heated structure, while the crocodilians will have access to constantly flowing water, Magill said. —Dan Peck, ABC News, 30 Jan. 2026

The center added that the man, identified by 10WJAR as Francis Hardy, took the lizard out of the snow, wrapped it in a T-shirt, and called for help. —Gabrielle Rockson, PEOPLE, 30 Jan. 2026

Attendees can explore a wide variety of reptiles available for purchase, including snakes, lizards, turtles and more. —Tiffany Acosta, AZCentral.com, 29 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English liserd, from Anglo-French lesarde, from Latin lacerta

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing lizard

• beaded lizard
• horned lizard
• lizard's tail
• lounge lizard
• monitor lizard
• thunder lizard

Rhymes for lizard

• blizzard
• gizzard
• izard
• wizard

Kids Definition

lizard

noun

liz·​ard ˈliz-ərd 

: any of a group of reptiles that can be told apart from the related snakes by their lower jaw which has the two halves joined and inseparable, by ears which are outside the body, by eyes with movable lids, and usually by two pairs of functional limbs