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Glite Dictionary
gator

gator

87 7.8
A large animal that lives in water and on land with a wide rounded snout
  • noun
  • /ˈɡeɪtər/
  • Informal
translation icon : caimán
  • They got gators in the swamps, and guys missing teeth.

They had a urban gentleman selling Gator bites on the side of the road out of the back of a truck by the box.

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Examples

  • Unfortunately for James, the pond was filled with Gators because remember, this is Florida.

  • Oh my God, there is a Gator right there.

  • "Well, the rest of the family will just pal around with the gator, then."

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Three years later, that was 1908; the gator trade was pretty close to finished.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • You can practically hold a gator's jaws closed with two fingers.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • I photographed this gator (pictured above) at Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, Florida.

    Academic text (2001)

  • We saw a large gator basking in the sun by the riverbank.

  • The wildlife expert explained how to safely observe a gator in its natural habitat.

  • During our boat tour, we spotted a gator swimming peacefully in the swamp.

Synonyms

alligator
vsgator
76 1.0

A large reptile that lives in water and on land with a broad snout

is the informal, casual name for that reptile
American alligator
vsgator
  • US
1 4.2

A large dark reptile with a wide snout that lives in southeastern United States swamps

is the informal label rather than the formal species name

Surface Forms

gator singular
gators plural

Etymology

Gator is a casual short form of alligator, and that older word comes from Spanish el lagarto, which means 'the lizard'. So gator is a friendly, less formal name for the large reptile known as an alligator.