Meanings
- uncountablebiologyA form of pseudocopulation, found chiefly in amphibians and horseshoe crabs, in which a male grasps a female with his front legs as part of the mating process.
Finally, we came upon a pair of Panamanian robber frogs locked in amplexus—the amphibian version of sex.
2014, Elizabeth Kolbert, chapter 1, in The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, Henry Holt and Company1 more example
In the middle, just below the surface, a male and a female were locked in amplexus, a coupling that can last for days as the male waits to fertilise the eggs when they are laid.
2018 March 29, Ed Douglas, “Country diary: tantric embraces and nuptial pads – the secrets of frog sex revealed”, in The GuardianSynonyms: amplection//amplexion, amplexation
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA form of pseudocopulation, found chiefly in amphibians and horseshoe crabs, in which a male grasps a female with his front legs as part of the mating process.
Origin
- Latinamplexus“embrace”
- Englishamplexus
Unadapted borrowing from Latin amplexus (“embrace”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Polish ampleksus
- ampleksuspseudocopulation in which a male grasps a female with his front legs
Portuguese amplexo
- amplexopseudocopulation in which a male grasps a female with his front legs
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with amplexus
All rhymes →Cite this entry
amplexus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/amplexus
“amplexus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/amplexus. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “amplexus,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/amplexus.
Source: amplexus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.