krait

[ krahyt ]

noun

1. any of several large, usually banded, placid but highly venomous snakes constituting the genus Bungarus, of the cobra family, common in southeastern Asia and the Malay Archipelago.

krait

/ kraɪt /

noun

1. any nonaggressive brightly coloured venomous elapid snake of the genus Bungarus, of S and SE Asia

Word History and Origins

Origin of krait¹

First recorded in 1870–75, krait is from the Hindi word karait

Word History and Origins

Origin of krait¹

C19: from Hindi karait, of obscure origin

Example Sentences

Jardine, Khalek and their colleagues tested the effect of 95Mat5 on mice injected with toxins from the many-banded krait, Indian spitting cobra, black mamba and king cobra.

From Science Daily

Tamil Nadu has high numbers of four venomous snakes whose bites can seriously affect humans: the spectacled cobra, the Russell's viper, the saw-scaled viper and the common krait.

From Science Daily

"My father told a journalist: we would have taken the Japanese vessel and us out," recalled Brian Young, 80, the son of radio operator and Krait crew member Horrie Young.

From BBC

It could be the plot of an action movie: send 14 Australian and British commandos and crew members thousands of kilometres from Australia to Japanese-occupied Singapore, via a motorised fishing boat renamed the Krait.

From BBC

It is the subject of numerous books, documentaries, and TV and movie adaptations, while the Krait has been on display at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney since 1988.

From BBC