snake

[ sneyk ]

noun

1. any of numerous limbless, scaly, elongate reptiles of the suborder Serpentes, comprising venomous and nonvenomous species inhabiting tropical and temperate areas.
2. a treacherous person; an insidious enemy. Compare snake in the grass.
3. Building Trades.
   1. Also called auger, plumber's snake. (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.
   2. Also called wirepuller. a length of resilient steel wire, for threading through an electrical conduit so that wire can be pulled through after it.

verb (used without object)

, snaked, snak·ing.

1. to move, twist, or wind:

   The road snakes among the mountains.

verb (used with object)

, snaked, snak·ing.

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

   to snake one's way through a crowd.

2. to drag or haul, especially by a chain or rope, as a log.

snake

/ sneɪk /

noun

1. 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 colubrineophidian
2. Also calledsnake in the grass a deceitful or treacherous person
3. anything resembling a snake in appearance or action
4. (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. a tool in the form of a long flexible wire for unblocking drains

verb

1. intr to glide or move like a snake
2. tr to haul (a heavy object, esp a log) by fastening a rope around one end of it
3. tr often foll by out to pull jerkily
4. tr to move in or follow (a sinuous course)

Derived Forms

• ˈsnakeˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• snakelike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of snake¹

before 1000; Middle English (noun); Old English snaca; cognate with Middle Low German snake, Old Norse snākr

Word History and Origins

Origin of snake¹

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

Example Sentences

As the band played There's No Such Thing As A Jaggy Snake, the bride was lifted into the air and carried by fellow fans, still in her wedding dress.

From BBC

“It’s very eye-catching and cool. I like seeing people that I have admired for years like Cobra Snake and Doja Cat using it, too.”

From Los Angeles Times

Snakes, scorpions and venomous giant worms invade the tents and have to be swept out.

From BBC

Jacobson was producing “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” and watching Josh Rivera at work.

From Los Angeles Times

“Clarkston,” one of his acclaimed recent plays, is a gay drama about two lost souls set in the titlular Washington state town located just across the Snake River from Lewiston, Idaho.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• serpent
• vermin