Caiman

//ˈkeɪ.mən// name, noun

name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Any of the relatively small crocodilians of the genus Caiman, within the family Alligatoridae.

    "Caimans are reptiles that are closely related to their Central and South American neighbors, the alligators. Adult caimans are usually four to six feet (1.8 m) in length."

  2. 2
    a semiaquatic reptile of Central and South America that resembles an alligator but has a more heavily armored belly wordnet
  3. 3
    A crocodilian of the subfamily Caimaninae, which includes the very large black caiman. broadly
  4. 4
    A semi-aquatic lizard, of the genus Dracaena, found in South America. To differentiate from caimans, they are referred to as caiman lizards.
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    Alternative form of Cayman. alt-of, alternative, archaic

Synonyms

All synonyms
alligatorcaymancayman

Example

More examples

"The caiman is a very aggressive animal."

Etymology

From Spanish caimán or Portuguese caimão, from Kari'na acayouman.

Related phrases

Cayman IslandsCuvier's dwarf caimancaiman lizardspectacled caimanyacare caimancaiman lizardsouth america

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.