ALLIGATOR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does alligator mean? 

• ALLIGATOR (noun)
  The noun ALLIGATOR has 2 senses:

1. leather made from alligator's hide

2. either of two amphibious reptiles related to crocodiles but with shorter broader snouts

  Familiarity information: ALLIGATOR used as a noun is rare.

• ALLIGATOR (verb)
  The verb ALLIGATOR has 1 sense:

1. crack and acquire the appearance of alligator hide, as from weathering or improper application; of paint and varnishes

  Familiarity information: ALLIGATOR used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ALLIGATOR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Leather made from alligator's hide

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("alligator" is a kind of...):

leather (an animal skin made smooth and flexible by removing the hair and then tanning)

Derivation:

alligator (crack and acquire the appearance of alligator hide, as from weathering or improper application; of paint and varnishes)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Either of two amphibious reptiles related to crocodiles but with shorter broader snouts

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

alligator; gator

Hypernyms ("alligator" is a kind of...):

crocodilian; crocodilian reptile (extant archosaurian reptile)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "alligator"):

Alligator mississipiensis; American alligator (large alligator of the southeastern United States)

Alligator sinensis; Chinese alligator (small alligator of the Yangtze valley of China having unwebbed digits)

Holonyms ("alligator" is a member of...):

genus Alligator (type genus of the Alligatoridae)

• ALLIGATOR (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Crack and acquire the appearance of alligator hide, as from weathering or improper application; of paint and varnishes

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "alligator" is one way to...):

crack (break partially but keep its integrity)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

alligator (leather made from alligator's hide)

 Context examples 

Since the late 1800s, however, alligators have often been spotted in salty environments in Southeast coastal areas.

(Alligators, rulers of the swamps, link marine and freshwater ecosystems, NSF)

A number of long dark objects, which were too large for alligators and too long for canoes, lay upon the edges of these patches of sand.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

We had exhausted the crocodiles, and begun with the alligators, when the garden-bell rang.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

But University of Utah biologist Colleen Farmer and colleagues discovered that alligators and iguanas also have a unidirectional air flow pattern.

(Following the lizard lung labyrinth, National Science Foundation)

It shows up in the fossil record right after a large group of reptiles known as archosaurs split into a bird branch (leading to dinosaurs and eventually birds) and a crocodile branch (leading to alligators and crocodiles).

(Scientists discover fossil of dinosaur ancestor with surprising croc-like appearance, NSF)

As a result, alligators' use of salty environments such as near-shore marine areas, mangrove swamps and salt marshes was, until recently, thought of as unusual behavior and of little ecological importance.

(Alligators, rulers of the swamps, link marine and freshwater ecosystems, NSF)

By traveling from one ecosystem to another, alligators ferry nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus from place to place in the food they eat and excrete.

(Alligators, rulers of the swamps, link marine and freshwater ecosystems, NSF)

Spring tides mean one thing for alligators: more food.

(Alligators, rulers of the swamps, link marine and freshwater ecosystems, NSF)

By understanding the factors that contribute to alligators' meanderings, environmental managers can gain a better understanding of alligators' place in coastal ecosystems.

(Alligators, rulers of the swamps, link marine and freshwater ecosystems, NSF)

Historically, alligators have been considered a freshwater species due to their lack of salt-secreting glands.

(Alligators, rulers of the swamps, link marine and freshwater ecosystems, NSF)