living or able to live both on land and in water; belonging to both land and water.
Also amphibian. capable of operating on both land and water: amphibious vehicles.
of or relating to military operations by both land and naval forces against the same object, especially to a military attack by troops landed by naval ships.
trained or organized to fight, or fighting, on both land and sea: amphibious troops.
combining two qualities, kinds, traits, etc.; of or having a mixed or twofold nature.
Origin of amphibious
1635–45; <Latin amphibius<Greek amphíbios living a double life. See amphi-, bio-, -ous
Long before the USS Bonhomme Richard, an amphibious assault ship, caught fire Sunday morning, San Diego portside communities were already working to measure and quell the air pollution they regularly experience from nearby industrial shipyards.
Answers on Navy Fire’s Health Impacts Won’t Come Right Away|MacKenzie Elmer|July 14, 2020|Voice of San Diego
The Duplex Drive (called DD) was one: an amphibious conversion which could be fitted to a normal Sherman tank.
Blood in the Sand: When James Jones Wrote a Grunt’s View of D-Day|James Jones|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Lawmakers have tried to halt the French sale of the Mistral, an amphibious warship, to the Russian Navy.
Germany Helped Prep Russia for War, U.S. Sources Say|Josh Rogin|April 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After the race the Duke and Duchess had a thrilling, bouncy ride across the harbour in an amphibious vehicle.
Kate Rules The Waves And Thrashes William|Tom Sykes|April 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The strongest conceivable U.S. land or amphibious forces would not provide a military option.
America Doesn’t Need a Big Army Any More|Bill Sweetman|March 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Surfers today forecast waves using technology first developed to help with the timing of amphibious assaults.
Surfing Is Less Mystical and More High Tech Says a New Book|Josh Dzieza|August 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Chief among these amphibious forms in the warmer seas are the Crabs of the genera Ocypode and Gelasimus and some of their allies.
The Life of Crustacea|William Thomas Calman
The amphibious inmates of the marine town never go ashore, but are a species of otter or seal.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. XII, No. 28. July, 1873.|Various
In Canton it is estimated that a hundred and fifty thousand people thus live in boats, leading a kind of amphibious existence.
From Egypt to Japan|Henry M. Field
These islanders are amphibious, brought up with "one foot on sea, one foot on shore."
Nooks and Corners of the New England Coast|Samuel Adams Drake
Colonel Glover, with his amphibious regiment of Marblehead fishermen, was in advance.
The Student's Life of Washington; Condensed from the Larger Work of Washington Irving|Washington Irving
British Dictionary definitions for amphibious
amphibious
/ (æmˈfɪbɪəs) /
adjective
able to live both on land and in the water, as frogs, toads, etc
designed for operation on or from both water and land
relating to military forces and equipment organized for operations launched from the sea against an enemy shore
having a dual or mixed nature
Derived forms of amphibious
amphibiously, adverbamphibiousness, noun
Word Origin for amphibious
C17: from Greek amphibios, literally: having a double life, from amphi- + bios life