mamba

[ mahm-bah ]

noun

1. any of several long, slender, arboreal snakes of the genus Dendroaspis, of central and southern Africa, the bite of which is often fatal.

mamba

/ ˈmæmbə /

noun

1. any aggressive partly arboreal tropical African venomous elapid snake of the genus Dendroaspis, esp D. angusticeps ( green and black mambas )

Word History and Origins

Origin of mamba¹

1860–65; < Nguni; compare Zulu imamba, izimamba

Word History and Origins

Origin of mamba¹

from Zulu im-amba

Example Sentences

There are more than 400 species comprising a very diverse group of snakes such as mambas, cobras, kraits, taipans, tiger snakes, death adders, sea snakes and coral snakes.

From Science Daily

The antibody, which protected mice from the normally deadly venom of snakes including black mambas and king cobras, is described on February 21, 2024, in Science Translational Medicine.

From Science Daily

The jerseys, which appear to be inspired by the Black Mamba jerseys the Lakers wore during their 2020 championship run, are black with mamba scale markings and gold print and trim.

From Los Angeles Times

Nhamo chipped off a portion of the termite nest with Uncle Kufa’s knife, while watching carefully for the mambas that inhabited such places.

From Literature

At once, as though somehow aware that he was their last intruder, the mambas hissed loudly in unison, their cold eyes meeting his own like onyx plucked from a starless night sky.

From Literature