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iguana

/ɪˈgwɑnə/
/ɪˈgwɑnə/
IPA guide

Other forms: iguanas

An iguana is a big lizard with distinctive spines running down its back. If you keep an iguana as a pet, you'll want to feed it a lot of fresh vegetables.

Iguanas look a little intimidating, since they grow as large as six feet long to the tip of the tail and have a head that resembles a dinosaur. While pet iguanas can sometimes be somewhat aggressive, they can be tamed with enough handling. The word iguana is Spanish, and it comes from a West Indies language, Arawak, and its word for this particular kind of lizard, iwana.

Definitions of iguana
  1. noun
    large herbivorous tropical American arboreal lizards with a spiny crest along the back; used as human food in Central America and South America
    see moresee less
    type of:
    iguanid, iguanid lizard
    lizards of the New World and Madagascar and some Pacific islands; typically having a long tail and bright throat patch in males
Pronunciation
US
/ɪˈgwɑnə/
UK
/ɪˈgwɑnə/
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