snake

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Snake¹

(snāk)

n. pl. Snake or Snakes

See Shoshone.

Snake²

(snāk)

See Hydra.

snake

(snāk)

1. Any of numerous scaly, legless, sometimes venomous squamate reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (or Ophidia), having a long, tapering, cylindrical body and flexible jaws.

2. A treacherous person. Also called snake in the grass.

3. A long, highly flexible metal wire or coil used for cleaning drains. Also called plumber's snake.

v. snaked, snak·ing, snakes

v.tr.

1. To drag or pull lengthwise, especially to drag with a rope or chain.

2. To pull with quick jerks.

3. To move in a sinuous or gliding manner: tried to snake the rope along the ledge.

v.intr.

To move with a sinuous motion: The river snakes through the valley.

[Middle English, from Old English snaca.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

snake

(sneɪk)

1. (Animals) any reptile of the suborder Ophidia (or Serpentes), typically having a scaly cylindrical limbless body, fused eyelids, and a jaw modified for swallowing large prey: includes venomous forms such as cobras and rattlesnakes, large nonvenomous constrictors (boas and pythons), and small harmless types such as the grass snake.

2. Also called: snake in the grass a deceitful or treacherous person

3. anything resembling a snake in appearance or action

4. (Economics) (in the European Union) a former system of managing a group of currencies by allowing the exchange rate of each of them only to fluctuate within narrow limits

5. (Tools) a tool in the form of a long flexible wire for unblocking drains

6. (intr) to glide or move like a snake

7. (Forestry) (tr) US to haul (a heavy object, esp a log) by fastening a rope around one end of it

8. (tr) (often foll by out) US to pull jerkily

9. (tr) to move in or follow (a sinuous course)

[Old English snaca; related to Old Norse snākr snake, Old High German snahhan to crawl, Norwegian snōk snail]

ˈsnakeˌlike adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

snake

(sneɪk)

n., v. snaked, snak•ing. n.

1. any limbless, scaly, elongate reptile of the suborder Serpentes, comprising venomous and nonvenomous species.

2. a treacherous person; an insidious enemy.

3. (in plumbing) a device for dislodging obstructions in curved pipes, having a head fed into the pipe at the end of a flexible metal band.

v.i.

4. to move, twist, or wind in the manner of a snake: The road snakes among the mountains.

v.t.

5. to wind or make (one's course, way, etc.) in the manner of a snake.

6. to haul, esp. by a chain or rope, as a log.

[before 1000; Middle English (n.); Old English snaca, c. Old Norse snākr]

snake

(snāk)

Any of numerous meat-eating reptiles having a long narrow body with no legs, often just one lung, and a forked tongue. The jaws of a snake come apart and the body can expand to swallow prey that is much thicker than the snake itself. Some snakes have venom glands and sharp fangs that can give a poisonous bite.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

snake

squamous, squamulose - A fish or snake can be squamous or squamulose—covered with minute scales.
adder - A snake, it was first "a nadder," which was misanalyzed to "an adder."
snark - A blend of snake and shark by Lewis Carroll, it is a synonym for "snore" or "snort."
tang - The tongue of a snake.

Snake

a term applied to things or a formation resembling a snake—Wilkes.

Examples: a black snake of men winding across the plain, 1891; snakes of ribbon, 1894.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	snake - limbless scaly elongate reptile; some are venomous ophidian, serpent diapsid, diapsid reptile - reptile having a pair of openings in the skull behind each eye Ophidia, Serpentes, suborder Ophidia, suborder Serpentes - snakes colubrid, colubrid snake - mostly harmless temperate-to-tropical terrestrial or arboreal or aquatic snakes blind snake, worm snake - wormlike burrowing snake of warm regions having vestigial eyes constrictor - any of various large nonvenomous snakes that kill their prey by crushing it in its coils elapid, elapid snake - any of numerous venomous fanged snakes of warmer parts of both hemispheres sea snake - any of numerous venomous aquatic viviparous snakes having a fin-like tail; of warm littoral seas; feed on fish which they immobilize with quick-acting venom viper - venomous Old World snakes characterized by hollow venom-conducting fangs in the upper jaw
	2.	snake - a deceitful or treacherous person snake in the grass bad person - a person who does harm to others
	3.	Snake - a tributary of the Columbia River that rises in Wyoming and flows westward; discovered in 1805 by the Lewis and Clark Expedition Snake River Gem State, ID, Idaho - a state in the Rocky Mountains Beaver State, OR, Oregon - a state in northwestern United States on the Pacific Evergreen State, WA, Washington - a state in northwestern United States on the Pacific Equality State, WY, Wyoming - a state in the western United States; mountainous in the west and north with the Great Plains in the east Twin Falls, Twin - a waterfall in the Snake River in southern Idaho
	4.	Snake - a long faint constellation in the southern hemisphere near the equator stretching between Virgo and Cancer Hydra
	5.	snake - something long, thin, and flexible that resembles a snake object, physical object - a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow; "it was full of rackets, balls and other objects" closet auger - a snake used to unblock toilets auger, plumber's snake - a long flexible steel coil for dislodging stoppages in curved pipes trap-and-drain auger - a plumber's snake for clearing a trap and drain
Verb	1.	snake - move smoothly and sinuously, like a snake glide - move smoothly and effortlessly
	2.	snake - form a snake-like pattern; "The river snakes through the valley" curve, wind, twist - extend in curves and turns; "The road winds around the lake"; "the path twisted through the forest"
	3.	snake - move along a winding path; "The army snaked through the jungle" meander, thread, wind, wander, weave - to move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course; "the river winds through the hills"; "the path meanders through the vineyards"; "sometimes, the gout wanders through the entire body"

snake

noun

1. serpent He was caught with his pet snake in his pocket.

verb

1. wind, twist, curve, turn, bend, ramble, meander, deviate, zigzag The road snaked through the forested mountains.

Related words
adjectives serpentine, anguine, ophidian, colubrine
like ophidiomania
fear ophidiophobia

see reptiles

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

snake

verb

1. To move sinuously:

sinuate, slither, undulate.

2. To move or proceed on a repeatedly curving course:

coil, corkscrew, curl, entwine, meander, spiral, twine, twist, weave, wind, wreathe.

3. To move along in a crouching or prone position:

crawl, creep, slide, worm.

4. To move silently and furtively:

creep, glide, lurk, mouse, prowl, pussyfoot, skulk, slide, slink, slip, sneak, steal.

Slang: gumshoe.

Translations

slang

ثعابينثعبانثُعْبَانحَيَّه، ثُعْبانيَتَحَرَّك كالثُّعْبان

змия

serpserpent

hadplazit se

slangesnosno sig

Schlange schlängeln sich schlängeln sich winden winden

φίδι ελίσσομαι ερπετό όφις φείδι

serpento

serpiente culebra serpentear culebrearhacer culebra

madu

مار

käärmekiemurrella

serpent serpenter

נחש

साँप

zmija

kígyókígyózik

serpente

ular

snákurhlykkjast áframslanga

serpente serpeggiare biscia serpe

ヘビ蛇

뱀

anguisserpensvipera

gyvatėgyvatės įkandimasšliaužtigyvačių užkalbėtojas

čūskalocītiesložņāt

ഉരഗംപന്നഗംപാന്പ്സര്‍പ്പം

slang serpent

slange ormstakefjær

wąż

serpente serpentear cobra

şarpe

змея змеи

had

kača

zmijaзмија

ormslingraslingra sigvindla

tnyoka

งูเลื้อย

yılanyılankavi gitmek

змія

con rắnrắnxà

蛇似蛇般地爬行

snake

[sneɪk]

A. N → serpiente f; (harmless) → culebra f
a snake in the grass (fig) → un traidor

B. VI a hand snaked out of the curtain → una mano apareció por detrás de la cortina
the road snaked down the mountain → la carretera serpenteaba montaña abajo

C. CPD snake charmer N → encantador(a) m/f de serpientes
snakes and ladders NSING → juego m de la oca
snake pit N → nido m de serpientes

snake about snake along VI + ADV → serpentear

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

snake

[ˈsneɪk] n → serpent m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

snake

n → Schlange f; a snake in the grass (fig: = woman) → eine listige Schlange; (= man) → ein heimtückischer Kerl

vi → sich schlängeln

snake

snakebite

→ Schlangenbiss m

(= drink) Getränk aus Cidre und Bier

snakeboard

n (Sport) → Snakeboard nt, Skateboard für Slalomfahrten

snakeboarding

n (Sport) → Snakeboarden nt, → Snakeboarding nt

snake charmer

n → Schlangenbeschwörer(in) m(f)

snake fence

n (esp US) → Scherengitter nt

snake fruit

n → Salak f, → Schlangenhautfrucht f

snakepit

n → Schlangengrube f

snakeskin

n → Schlangenhaut f; (= leather) → Schlangenleder nt

adj → Schlangenleder-, aus Schlangenleder; snake boots → Schlangenlederstiefel pl

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

snake

[sneɪk] n → serpente m, serpe f
snake in the grass (fig) → traditore/trice

snake

(sneik) noun

any of a group of legless reptiles with long bodies that move along on the ground with a twisting movement, many of which have a poisonous bite. He was bitten by a snake and nearly died.

verb

to move like a snake. He snaked his way through the narrow tunnel.

ˈsnake-bite noun

the wound resulting from the bite of a snake. What is the best treatment for (a) snake-bite?

ˈsnake-charmer noun

a person who can handle snakes and make them perform rhythmical movements.

snake

→ ثُعْبَان had slange Schlange φίδι serpiente käärme serpent zmija serpente ヘビ 뱀 slang slange wąż cobra змея orm งู yılan con rắn 蛇

snake

n. serpiente, culebra;

___ -bite → mordedura de ___;

___ venom → ponzoña de ___;

poisonous ___ → ___ venenosa.

snake

n serpiente f

References in classic literature ?

Any unprejudiced person would accept the green lights to be the eyes of a great snake, such as tradition pointed to living in the well-hole.

View in context

This species of snake is not poisonous, and kills its prey by crushing it to death, making it into a pulpy mass, with scarcely a bone left unbroken, after which it swallows its meal.

View in context

A hunt after hunters Hungry times A voracious repast Wintry weather Godin's River Splendid winter scene on the great Lava Plain of Snake River Severe travelling and tramping in the snow Manoeuvres of a solitary Indian horseman Encampment on Snake River Banneck Indians The horse chief His charmed life.

View in context

The snake tails drew themselves up and disappeared.

View in context

ONE WINTER a Farmer found a Snake stiff and frozen with cold.

View in context

ONE day an Opossum who had gone to sleep hanging from the highest branch of a tree by the tail, awoke and saw a large Snake wound about the limb, between him and the trunk of the tree.

View in context

Skin-changing always makes a snake moody and depressed till the new skin begins to shine and look beautiful.

View in context

"A snake in his bosom!" repeated the young sculptor to himself.

View in context

I whirled round, and there, on one of those dry gravel beds, was the biggest snake I had ever seen.

View in context

Well, by night I forgot all about the snake, and when Jim flung himself down on the blanket while I struck a light the snake's mate was there, and bit him.

View in context

When he had lifted one-third of himself clear of the ground, he stayed balancing to and fro exactly as a dandelion tuft balances in the wind, and he looked at Rikki-tikki with the wicked snake's eyes that never change their expression, whatever the snake may be thinking of.

View in context

Snakes? Long before I had heard of the existence of snakes, I was tormented by them in my sleep.

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