alligator

Definitions

1. Either of two species of large amphibious reptile, Alligator mississippiensis or Alligator sinensis, in the genus Alligator within order Crocodilia, which have sharp teeth and very strong jaws and are native to the Americas and China, respectively.
2. A member of the family Alligatoridae, which includes the caimans.
3. caiman
4. A dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis)
   Nigeria
5. cunning person
6. A crocodile of any species.
   dated
7. Any of various machines with strong jaws, one of which opens like the movable jaw of an alligator.
8. A form of squeezer for the puddle ball.
9. A rock breaker.
10. A kind of job press.
11. Any of various vehicles that have relatively long, low noses in front of a cab or other, usually windowed, structure.
12. An alligator-skin shoe.
    plural-normally
13. A swing music fan or performer, especially one who is white.
    US, dated, slang

Equivalents

Examples

“All you could see⟳ of the alligator were two eyes above the water, then suddenly it snatched up and caught the poor bird with strong jaws full of sharp teeth.”

“Alligators and crocodiles look⟳ extremely alike. The main distinguishing feature is the teeth. In a crocodile the teeth in its upper and lower jaws are in line, but in an alligator, when its mouth is shut⟳, the upper teeth lie⟳ outside the lower ones.”

“In 1967, the federal government declared alligators to be an Endangered Species and prohibited gator hunting and the sale of hides. The alligator responded and by the mid-1970s, the reptile numbers soared to an estimated half-million.”

“They ran to the village screaming at the top of their lungs that an alligator was coming after them. Several of the men in Alimacani retrieved from a storehouse the tool they used to catch⟳ alligators.”

“Alligators were very numerous, in fact the harbour was infested by them.”

CEFR level