Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A large aquatic salamander (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) of the eastern United States, having a flattened brownish body.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A protracted and reckless debauch or drunken frolic. See bender, 4.
  • noun The menopome, Menopoma alleghaniensis (or Protonopsis horrida), a large aquatic salamander with gillslits and 4 short legs, common in the Ohio valley; one of several such creatures known as mud-puppies and water-dogs. See Menopoma.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) A large North American aquatic salamander (Protonopsis horrida or Menopoma Alleghaniensis). It is very voracious and very tenacious of life. Also called alligator, and water dog.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, a giant salamander of North America that inhabits large, swiftly flowing streams with rocky bottoms.
  • noun A reckless, headstrong person.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun large salamander of North American rivers and streams

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

hell +‎ bender, possibly from hell-bent

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Examples

  • Reaching lengths of over two feet in length and weighing over 3 lbs., the hellbender is the largest amphibian species found in North America and the third largest salamander in the world, coming in behind the Chinese and the Japanese giant salamanders which are truly massive.

    David Mizejewski: Salamander Eating Habits David Mizejewski 2011

  • As the continent's largest frog species and second largest amphibian the hellbender is the largest, bullfrogs are powerful predators that will eat anything smaller than themselves that they can fit down their large mouths.

    David Mizejewski: Newt Kills Frog With Chemical Warfare David Mizejewski 2011

  • As the continent's largest frog species and second largest amphibian the hellbender is the largest, bullfrogs are powerful predators that will eat anything smaller than themselves that they can fit down their large mouths.

    David Mizejewski: Newt Kills Frog With Chemical Warfare David Mizejewski 2011

  • Reaching lengths of over two feet in length and weighing over 3 lbs., the hellbender is the largest amphibian species found in North America and the third largest salamander in the world, coming in behind the Chinese and the Japanese giant salamanders which are truly massive.

    David Mizejewski: Salamander Eating Habits David Mizejewski 2011

  • Reaching lengths of over two feet in length and weighing over 3 lbs., the hellbender is the largest amphibian species found in North America and the third largest salamander in the world, coming in behind the Chinese and the Japanese giant salamanders which are truly massive.

    David Mizejewski: Salamander Eating Habits David Mizejewski 2011

  • A newt -- aka a hellbender or mud puppy -- is a slimy amphibian with an uncanny ability to reinvent itself by regenerating limbs, eyes, jaws, a spinal cord, even its heart.

    Michael Sigman: The Newtiness of Newt 2010

  • Salamanders, which thrive in moist environments that keep their skin wet, number 2 dozen species, from the pigmy salamander that is less than 2 inches at maturity to the hellbender, which is nearly 30 inches.

    The Field Guide to Wildlife Habitats of the Eastern United States Janine M. Benyus 1989

  • Salamanders, which thrive in moist environments that keep their skin wet, number 2 dozen species, from the pigmy salamander that is less than 2 inches at maturity to the hellbender, which is nearly 30 inches.

    The Field Guide to Wildlife Habitats of the Eastern United States Janine M. Benyus 1989

  • Salamanders, which thrive in moist environments that keep their skin wet, number 2 dozen species, from the pigmy salamander that is less than 2 inches at maturity to the hellbender, which is nearly 30 inches.

    The Field Guide to Wildlife Habitats of the Eastern United States Janine M. Benyus 1989

  • There are three types left on the planet-the Japanese and Chinese giant salamanders and a much smaller American giant salamander called the hellbender

    Conservation International - Feature Articles 2010

Comments

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  • Also see bender.

    April 27, 2011

  • And heckbender. ;->

    April 27, 2011

  • "...Also called alligator, and water dog."

    April 18, 2024

  • Now if there was an amphibious turducken situation where a dog paddling in the river was eaten by a hellbender, which was eaten in turn by an alligator, would not that parse as:

    'Water dog eaten by water dog eaten by water dog'?

    April 18, 2024

  • Show your workings.

    April 18, 2024

  • Alright then you long-eared louse factory.

    dog in river = water dog

    hellbender = water dog

    alligator = hellbender = water dog.

    QED.

    April 18, 2024