Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Biology Living or able to live both on land and in water.
  • adjective Able to operate both on land and in water.
  • adjective Relating to or organized for a military landing by means of combined naval and land forces.
  • adjective Of a mixed or twofold nature.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • . Living both on land and in water; habitually alternating between land and water.
  • Of or pertaining to the Amphibia; amphibian.
  • Of a mixed nature; partaking of two natures: as, an amphibious breed.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Having the ability to live both on land and in water, as frogs, crocodiles, beavers, and some plants.
  • adjective Pertaining to, adapted for, or connected with, both land and water.
  • adjective Of a mixed nature; partaking of two natures.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Capable of functioning on land or in water.
  • adjective Occurring on both land and water.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective operating or living on land and in water
  • adjective relating to or characteristic of animals of the class Amphibia

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From Latin amphibius, from Greek amphibios; see amphibian.]

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Examples

  • It comprised a chunk of cinematic fleet on the move stuff, then dived into the protags first, call it "amphibious", action.

    Another one of those potentially life changing crit sessions... zornhau 2009

  • And here it is, six years after the voyage, it's incredible, '' said Luis Grass, 41, the man who came up with the idea of the seafaring truck and made history by escaping from Cuba twice in amphibious vehicles.

    Sunday Reading 2009

  • U.S.S. BATAAN SITS OFF SHORE, VIRTUALLY UNUSED: The USS Bataan, a 844-foot ship designed to dispatch Marines in amphibious assaults, has helicopters, doctors, hospital beds, food and water.

    Hurricane Katrina 2007

  • The USS Bataan, a 844-foot ship designed to dispatch Marines in amphibious assaults, has helicopters, doctors, hospital beds, food and water.

    09/04/2005 2005

  • The USS Bataan, a 844-foot ship designed to dispatch Marines in amphibious assaults, has helicopters, doctors, hospital beds, food and water.

    Damn them « BuzzMachine 2005

  • That is why NATO's current commander, Marine General James L. Jones, emphasizes that NATO's future lies in amphibious, expeditionary warfare.

    How We Would Fight China 2005

  • The USS Bataan, a 844-foot ship designed to dispatch Marines in amphibious assaults, has helicopters, doctors, hospital beds, food and water.

    Boing Boing: September 4, 2005 - September 10, 2005 Archives 2005

  • That is why NATO's current commander, Marine General James L. Jones, emphasizes that NATO's future lies in amphibious, expeditionary warfare.

    How We Would Fight China 2005

  • That is why NATO's current commander, Marine General James L. Jones, emphasizes that NATO's future lies in amphibious, expeditionary warfare.

    How We Would Fight China 2005

  • "If you find yourself unable to understand or accept the overwhelming evidence against your assertion of the military necessity for internment, I strongly recommend that you speak to an admiral or Marine general well-versed in amphibious assaults and WWII-era military history."

    IsThatLegal? 2004

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  • Railroad telegraphers' notation meaning "Will you allow? --US Railway Association, Standard Cipher Code, 1906.

    January 19, 2013