reptile

noun

• 1a cold-blooded vertebrate animal of a class that includes snakes, lizards, crocodiles, turtles, and tortoises. They are distinguished by having a dry scaly skin, and typically laying soft-shelled eggs on land.

  • Class Reptilia: orders Chelonia (turtles and tortoises), Squamata (snakes and lizards), Rhynchocephalia (the tuatara), and Crocodylia (crocodilians). Among several extinct groups are the dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and ichthyosaurs

• 2 informal a person regarded with loathing and contempt: are you contradicting me, you ignorant little reptile?

adjective

• belonging to a reptile or to the class of reptiles:reptile eggs