alligator

noun

• a large semiaquatic reptile similar to a crocodile but with a broader and shorter head, native to the Americas and China.

  • Genus Alligator, family Alligatoridae, order Crocodylia: the American alligator (A. mississippiensis) and the Chinese alligator (A. sinensis)
• [mass noun] the skin of the alligator or material resembling it.