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# alligator

noun (an alligator, alligators)

«alligator» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

A large reptile with a long body, short legs, a long wide snout and strong jaws with many teeth, which lives in rivers, lakes and swamps in the south-east USA and in China. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/alligator/#m1)

### In the lessons

In science, alligators are reptiles: cold-blooded, with scaly skin, and they lay eggs. In safety lessons in places like Florida, children learn to stay well away from the edges of ponds and lakes where alligators may live and never to feed them. Phrases: alligator snapping turtle, see you later, alligator; alligator clip.

### Examples

- The alligator lay still in the swamp. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/alligator/#x1)
- Alligators live in Florida and Louisiana. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/alligator/#x2)
- Never feed an alligator. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/alligator/#x3)
- An alligator has a wide, rounded snout. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/alligator/#x4)
- Baby alligators hatch from eggs. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/alligator/#x5)
- "See you later, alligator!" "In a while, crocodile!" [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/alligator/#x6)
- Stay far from the water's edge where alligators might hide. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/alligator/#x7)
- \*1 An Atlanta friend heard this story in Florida, but an alligator was substituted for the fox, and a little boy for the rabbit. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/alligator/#x8)

### Note

Use "an" because it starts with a vowel sound: an alligator. Countable. Common confusion: alligators have a wider U-shaped snout and their lower teeth are hidden when the mouth is closed; crocodiles have a narrower V-shaped snout and show lower teeth. Alligators live in the USA and China; crocodiles live in many more places, including Australia.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «alligator» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/alligator/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«alligator» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/alligator.html) on Mova free.