crocodile

/ˌkrɑkəˈdaɪl/

/ˈkrɒkədaɪl/

Other forms: crocodiles

A crocodile is an enormous reptile that has a long mouth lined with sharp teeth. Crocodiles live in and out of the water, preying on fish, birds, lizards, and mammals, snapping them between their powerful jaws.

Although crocodiles and alligators are related, they're from separate biological families and look slightly different from each other. Crocodiles have narrower heads and more pointed snouts — and even when their mouths are closed, you can still see all 80 of their teeth. They're carnivores that feed on everything from molluscs to large mammals, including buffalo, deer, and wildebeest. Crocodile has a Greek root, krokódilos, or "lizard."

Definitions of crocodile

1. noun

   large voracious aquatic reptile having a long snout with massive jaws and sharp teeth and a body covered with bony plates; of sluggish tropical waters
   types:

   African crocodile, Crocodylus niloticus, Nile crocodile

   a dangerous crocodile widely distributed in Africa

   Asian crocodile, Crocodylus porosus

   estuarine crocodile of eastern Asia and Pacific islands

   Morlett's crocodile

   a variety of crocodile

   type of:

   crocodilian, crocodilian reptile

   extant archosaurian reptile