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# amphibian

«amphibian» in Mova's school dictionary: **cold-blooded, has moist skin, usually lays eggs in water…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (an amphibian, amphibians); adjective (amphibian, amphibious — about vehicles)

### meaning for a pupil

1) An animal with a backbone that is cold-blooded, has moist skin, usually lays eggs in water, and lives part of its life in water and part on land, like frogs, toads, newts and salamanders. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/amphibian/#m1)

2) A vehicle or plane that can travel on both land and water (amphibious vehicle). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/amphibian/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In science classification, amphibians are one of the five groups of vertebrates (with fish, reptiles, birds and mammals). Their life cycle is a famous example of metamorphosis: egg (frogspawn) → tadpole with gills → froglet → adult frog with lungs. Their skin must stay damp, and they are sensitive to pollution, so they show how healthy an environment is. Phrases: amphibian life cycle, amphibians and reptiles.

### examples

- A frog is an amphibian. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/amphibian/#x1)
- Amphibians start life in water and can later live on land. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/amphibian/#x2)
- Tadpoles breathe with gills, but adult frogs breathe with lungs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/amphibian/#x3)
- Newts and salamanders are amphibians too. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/amphibian/#x4)
- Amphibians have smooth, moist skin, not scales. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/amphibian/#x5)
- We found frogspawn in the pond — amphibian eggs! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/amphibian/#x6)
- Some frog skins are poisonous, so don't lick or touch your mouth after holding one. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/amphibian/#x7)

### note

Common trap: amphibians are NOT reptiles. Reptiles (snakes, lizards, turtles) have dry, scaly skin and lay shelled eggs on land; amphibians have moist skin and lay jelly eggs in water. «Amphi-» means «both» — both water and land. Say «an amphibian».

### In the corpora

- [In the cold fast streams lives the biggest amphibian in the world, the Chinese giant salamander.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/378-china-s-mountains-golden-snub-nosed-monkeys-takins-red-crowned-cranes-and-giant-salamanders/3/)
- [Amphibians have smooth, moist skin and usually lay their eggs in water.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/24-animal-groups/11/)
- [Young amphibians usually live in water and breathe with gills; adults usually breathe with lungs and through their skin.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/24-animal-groups/12/)
- [Frogs, toads, newts and salamanders are amphibians; snakes, lizards, crocodiles and turtles are reptiles.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/24-animal-groups/17/)
- [Amphibian eggs have no shell, so they are laid in water or damp places.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/74-fish-frogs-reptiles/17/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «amphibian» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/amphibian/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.