Standard Lemma guide

caiman

name · noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈkeɪ.mən/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -eɪmən

1

name

Meaning 1

Alternative form of Cayman.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of, alternative, archaic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Any of the relatively small crocodilians of the genus Caiman, within the family Alligatoridae.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: strictly

Examples

  • 2002, International Wildlife Encyclopedia: Brown bear - Cheetah, 3rd Edition, page 358, The caimans are found in South America, mainly in the Amazon basin, with one species extending into the southern part of Mexico and another reaching northern parts of Argentina.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A crocodilian of the subfamily Caimaninae, which includes the very large black caiman.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A semi-aquatic lizard, of the genus Dracaena, found in South America. To differentiate from crocodilian caimans, they are referred to as caiman lizards.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

a semiaquatic reptile of Central and South America that resembles an alligator but has a more heavily armored belly

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cayman

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: crocodilian reptile, crocodilian

Narrower terms: spectacled caiman, Caiman sclerops

History

Etymology

From Spanish caimán or Portuguese caimão, from Kari'na acayouman.

Across languages

Translations

49 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: كَيَامِن (kayāmin) — alligator relative
  • Arabic: كَيْمَن (kayman) — alligator relative
  • Asturian: caimán — alligator relative
  • Basque: kaiman — alligator relative
  • Belarusian: кайма́н (kajmán) — alligator relative
  • Bulgarian: кайма́н (kajmán) — alligator relative
  • Catalan: caiman — alligator relative
  • Chinese Mandarin: 凱門鱷 /凯门鳄 (kǎimén'è) — alligator relative
  • Czech: kajman — alligator relative
  • Dutch: kaaiman — alligator relative
  • Esperanto: kajmano — alligator relative
  • Estonian: kaiman — alligator relative
  • Finnish: kaimaani — alligator relative
  • French: caïman — alligator relative
  • Georgian: კაიმანი (ḳaimani) — alligator relative
  • German: Kaiman — alligator relative
  • Hindi: कैमान (kaimān) — alligator relative
  • Hungarian: kajmán — alligator relative
  • Italian: caimano — alligator relative
  • Japanese: カイマン (kaiman) — alligator relative
  • Kari'na: akare — alligator relative
  • Kari'na: akare'u — alligator relative
  • Kazakh: кайман (kaiman) — alligator relative
  • Korean: 카이만 (kaiman) — alligator relative
  • Kyrgyz: кайман (kayman) — alligator relative
  • Macedonian: кајман (kajman) — alligator relative
  • Classical Nahuatl: cipactli — alligator relative
  • Navajo: bitseeʼ yee adiłhałii yázhí — alligator relative
  • Norwegian: kaiman — alligator relative
  • Persian: کیمن (kayman) — alligator relative
  • Polish: kajman — alligator relative
  • Portuguese: caimão — alligator relative
  • Romanian: caiman — alligator relative
  • Russian: кайма́н (kajmán) — alligator relative
  • Serbo-Croatian: кајман — alligator relative
  • Serbo-Croatian: kajman — alligator relative
  • Slovak: kajman — alligator relative
  • Slovene: kajman — alligator relative
  • Spanish: caimán — alligator relative
  • Spanish: yacaré — alligator relative
  • Spanish: taludín — alligator relative
  • Sranan Tongo: kaiman — alligator relative
  • Thai: เคแมน — alligator relative
  • Trió: ariwe — alligator relative
  • Turkish: kayman — alligator relative
  • Ukrainian: кайма́н (kajmán) — alligator relative
  • Uzbek: kayman — alligator relative
  • Vietnamese: cá sấu — alligator relative
  • Yucatec Maya: áayin — alligator relative