alligator

plural alligators

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.

   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.

   3 more examples

   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.

   2002, Maurice Burton, Robert Burton, International Wildlife Encyclopedia, page 38

   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.

   2007, Bernie McGovern, editor, Florida Almanac: 2007-2008, 17th edition, page 243

   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.

   2012, Thomas N. Tozer, Pierre's Journey to Florida: Diary of a Young Huguenot in the Sixteenth Century, unnumbered page

   Synonyms: gator

2. biologyA crocodilian of the subfamily Alligatorinae.
3. NigeriaA dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis)
4. datedA crocodile of any species.

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

   1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 88

5. Any of various machines with strong jaws, one of which opens like the movable jaw of an alligator.
   1. artsA form of squeezer for the puddle ball.
   2. businessA rock breaker.
   3. mediaA kind of job press.
6. Any of various vehicles that have relatively long, low noses in front of a cab or other, usually windowed, structure.
7. plural normallyAn alligator-skin shoe.
8. USdatedslangA swing music fan or performer, especially one who is white.

present singular third person alligators · participle present alligatoring · participle past alligatored · past alligatored

1. intransitiveTo crack in a pattern resembling an alligator's skin.

   Alligatoring is a result of the sun making the top surface of the asphalt brittle.

   2003, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Essentials of Home Inspection: Roofing, page 24

   2 more examples

   Sealing an area that is alligatoring is a temporary solution that may delay having to replace the asphalt for several years. A more permanent repair would be to replace the alligatored section.

   2004, James E. Piper, Handbook of Facility Assessment, page 39

   Common burn indicators include alligatoring, crazing, the depth of char, lines of demarcation, sagged furniture springs and spalling.

   2009, Kären M. Hess, Christine M. H. Orthmann, Criminal Investigation, page 483

1. Used in a common chronometric counting scheme, in which the speaker counts out loud, saying the word "alligator" between the numbers so that each number is spoken approximately one second after the last one.

   The same way people will count the seconds between lightning and thunder, I counted the seconds between coughs. One-alligator, two-alligator, three-alligator.

   2013, Chuck Palahniuk, “December 21, 9:33 A.M. CST”, in Doomed