snake pit
Americannoun
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a mental hospital marked by squalor and inhumane or indifferent care for the patients.
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an intensely chaotic or disagreeable place or situation.
Etymology
Origin of snake pit
First recorded in 1945–50
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“They’re in a snake pit, and they’ve got to be very careful.”
From MarketWatch • Oct. 15, 2025
The pitch became a snake pit, there was tension between the teams after the Saturday evening handbags and the Lord's atmosphere was sizzling.
From BBC • Jul. 13, 2025
Before plunging into the snake pit, let’s turn to some passages that will be fodder for future historians.
From Washington Post • Jan. 24, 2023
“President Trump sent me into that snake pit at the United Nations for a reason,” Craft said.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 13, 2022
We hurry into the tunnel and not a second too soon—the bridge gives way into the snake pit.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
