\Al"li*ga`tor\, n. [Sp. el lagarto the lizard (el
lagarto de Indias, the cayman or American crocodile), fr. L.
lacertus, lacerta, lizard. See {Lizard}.]
1. (Zo["o]l.) A large carnivorous reptile of the Crocodile
   family, peculiar to America. It has a shorter and broader
   snout than the crocodile, and the large teeth of the lower
   jaw shut into pits in the upper jaw, which has no marginal
   notches. Besides the common species of the southern United
   States, there are allied species in South America.
2. (Mech.) Any machine with strong jaws, one of which opens
   like the movable jaw of an alligator; as,
   (a) (Metal Working) a form of squeezer for the puddle
       ball;
   (b) (Mining) a rock breaker;
   (c) (Printing) a kind of job press, called also {alligator
       press}.
{Alligator apple} (Bot.), the fruit of the {Anona palustris},
   a West Indian tree. It is said to be narcotic in its
   properties. --Loudon.
{Alligator fish} (Zo["o]l.), a marine fish of northwestern
   America ({Podothecus acipenserinus}).
{Alligator gar} (Zo["o]l.), one of the gar pikes
   ({Lepidosteus spatula}) found in the southern rivers of
   the United States. The name is also applied to other
   species of gar pikes.
{Alligator pear} (Bot.), a corruption of {Avocado pear}. See
   {Avocado}.
{Alligator snapper}, {Alligator tortoise}, {Alligator turtle}
   (Zo["o]l.), a very large and voracious turtle
   ({Macrochelys lacertina}) inhabiting the rivers of the
   southern United States. It sometimes reaches the weight of
   two hundred pounds. Unlike the common snapping turtle, to
   which the name is sometimes erroneously applied, it has a
   scaly head and many small scales beneath the tail. This
   name is sometimes given to other turtles, as to species of
   {Trionyx}.
{Alligator wood}, the timber of a tree of the West Indies
   ({Guarea Swartzii}).