hellbender

American

[hel-ben-der] / ˈhɛlˌbɛn dər /

noun

a large salamander, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, of rivers and streams in eastern North America, having a flat, stout body and broad head.
Informal. a reckless or headstrong person.

hellbender British

/ ˈhɛlˌbɛndə /

noun

a very large dark grey aquatic salamander, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, with internal gills: inhabits rivers in E and central US: family Cryptobranchidae

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of hellbender

An Americanism dating back to 1805–15; hell + bender

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Male hellbender salamanders usually make doting dads, guarding eggs and shaking them free of silt.

From Scientific American • Oct. 1, 2023

The hellbender salamander has been called a lot of things.

From New York Times • Apr. 20, 2023

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources confirmed 3,500 dead fish in waterways as well as deceased hellbender salamanders, an endangered species in the state.

From Salon • Feb. 18, 2023

For his hellbender eDNA surveys, Spear used the two3 — a smartphone-based portable qPCR machine from Biomeme in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

From Nature • Jun. 24, 2019

Most salamanders are tiny, only an inch or two long, but the rare and startlingly ugly hellbender salamander can attain lengths of over two feet.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023