Gila monster


noun

a large, venomous lizard, Heloderma suspectum, of the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico, covered with beadlike scales of yellow, orange, and black.

Origin of Gila monster

1875–80, Americanism; after Gila

Example sentences from the Web for gila monster

British Dictionary definitions for gila monster

Gila monster
/ (ˈhiːlə) /

noun

a large venomous brightly coloured lizard, Heloderma suspectum, inhabiting deserts of the southwestern US and Mexico and feeding mostly on eggs and small mammals: family Helodermatidae

Word Origin for Gila monster

C19: after the Gila, a river in New Mexico and Arizona