amphibious

From Ancient Greek ἀμφίβιος (amphíbios). From ἀμφί (amphí) + βίος (bíos, “life”).

• IPA^(key): [æmˈfɪbi.əs]

• Audio (US):

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amphibious (not comparable)

1. Capable of functioning on land or in water.

   Synonym: amphibian

   Coordinate terms: triphibious, omniphibious

   an amphibious vehicle

   • 1898, The Outlook, volume 60, page 281:

     Most Dutch cities began on a terp or artificial mound to which the prehistoric amphibious folk rushed for refuge when floods rolled in.

2. Occurring on both land and water.

   an amphibious attack

   • 2022 September 30, “Taiwan adds new amphibious warfare ship to defence inventory”, in Al Jazeera‎^[1], archived from the original on 30 September 2022‎^[2]:

     Taiwan’s navy has taken delivery of a new, domestically made amphibious warfare ship that can be used to land troops and bolster supply lines to vulnerable islands, part of a push by Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen to achieve defence self-sufficiency.

3. (sports, humorous) Ambidextrous.

• amphibian (noun)