Meanings
plural crocodilians
- Any reptile of the order Crocodilia; a crocodile, alligator, caiman or gavial.
Superb predators, the crocodilians are reptiles, and the only survivors of the archosaurs that included dinosaurs.
2001, F. Lynne Bachleda, Dangerous Wildlife in the Southeast, page 333 more examples
1989, Walter P. Coombs, Jr., Modern analogs for dinosaur nesting and parental behavior, James Orville Farlow (editor), Paleobiology of the Dinosaurs, Issue 238, page 47, Mound-nesting crocodilians and megapodes appear to be indifferent to nest-site parameters, but susceptibility of crocodilian mound nests to predation or drowning may be altered by site selection.
Crocodilians are essentially lizard-like in basic shape and are adapted to a largely aquatic life. ln water, they hunt and eat their prey and advertise their size and location by bellowing.
2001, Patricia Pope Bartlett, Billy Griswold, Richard D. Bartlett, Reptiles, Amphibians, and Invertebrates: An Identification and Care Guide, page 191However, it is possible that baby titanoboas and Titanoboa eggs were preyed upon by the same crocodilians the adults ate.
2024 May 27, Rebecca Bales, Titanoboa, AZ Animals
- not comparableof, pertaining to, or resembling crocodiles
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From crocodile + -ian; compare translingual Crocodilia.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 鱷魚 /鳄鱼
- 鱷魚 /鳄鱼 (èyú)reptiles
Finnish krokotiilieläin
- krokotiilieläinreptiles
French crocodilien
- crocodilienreptiles
Japanese ワニ, 鰐
- ワニ (wani)reptiles
- 鰐 (wani)reptiles
Korean 악어
- 악어 (ageo)reptiles
Portuguese crocodiliano
- crocodilianoreptiles
Spanish crocodilio, crocodiliano
- crocodilioreptiles
- crocodilianoreptiles
Thai จระเข้
- จระเข้ (jɔɔ-rá-kêe)reptiles
Cite this entry
crocodilian. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crocodilian
“crocodilian.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crocodilian. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “crocodilian,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crocodilian.
Source: crocodilian on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.