snake
1 of 2noun
ˈsnāk 
1
: any of numerous limbless scaled reptiles (suborder Serpentes synonym Ophidia) with a long tapering body and with salivary glands often modified to produce venom which is injected through grooved or tubular fangs
2
: a worthless or treacherous fellow
3
: something (such as a plumber's snake) resembling a snake
snakelike
ˈsnāk-ˌlīk
adjective snake
2 of 2verb
snaked; snaking
transitive verb
1
: to wind (one's way, one's body in crawling, etc.) in the manner of a snake
2
: to move (something, such as logs) by dragging
intransitive verb
: to crawl, move, or extend silently, secretly, or sinuously
Synonyms
Noun
- serpent
- viper
Verb
- lurk
- mooch
- mouse
- pussyfoot
- shirk
- skulk
- slide
- slink
- slip
- sneak
- steal
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Noun I thought she was my friend, but she turned out to be a snake in the grass. snakes are cold-blooded, so they regulate their body temperature by alternately basking in sunlight and seeking shade Verb The road snakes through the mountains. Cables snaked across the floor. Technicians snaked cables through the set. He snaked his way through the crowd. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Sep. 2022 Brad Pitt falls off a balcony, Margot Robbie prepares to fight a snake, and so much more chaos consumes the extremely bonkers first trailer for Damien Chazelle’s next film, Babylon. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 13 Sep. 2022 Legend has it that a snake hidden in one of the fruit baskets that the emperor sent to his daughter eventually took her life. CNN, 7 Sep. 2022 As unique as the 'Bunny' song is, so too is the music video, which has Dossi getting cozy with a very long and gnarly-looking snake. Tricia Despres, Peoplemag, 29 Aug. 2022 While Lawson’s story was about a nameless woman protecting her young from a deadly snake, Purcell’s movie (which is not an adaptation, to be clear) fleshes out the reality of Molly’s life. Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2022 The figure lay across a stone platform, atop a snake, with its feet extended into the lap of a smaller, headless female figure representing his wife, the goddess Lakshmi. Nicole Sadek, Washington Post, 15 Aug. 2022 Police were called to the Fogelsville home shortly after 2 p.m. Wednesday on a report of a man in cardiac arrest with a snake wrapped around his neck. From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 26 July 2022 The officers discovered a man lying on the floor with a snake tightly wrapped around his neck. Charmaine Patterson, PEOPLE.com, 25 July 2022 Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 15 Aug. 2022 Now, long lines snake outside gas stations on the eve of price hikes each month. Isabel Debre, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 July 2022 During the busy summer season, the line may snake up the sidewalk, but this charming three-meal-a-day venue, with its canopied patio for outdoor seating, is the kind of place worth waiting in line for. Brad Johnson, Bon Appétit, 1 July 2022 The liquified emissions would be shot through 2,000 miles of pipelines that would snake northward, gathering more carbon dioxide from more than 30 ethanol plants in five states before arriving at a storage site in Bismarck, North Dakota. NBC News, 19 Mar. 2022 From Halloween mantels and treat displays to snake wreaths and black cat cookies, these ideas are festive, stylish and on-brand for the night. Mariah Thomas, Good Housekeeping, 28 June 2022 Technical faults with Eurostar's gates meant that lines of people had to snake out of St Pancras station in London to wait hours to go through security and immigration control. Alex Ledsom, Forbes, 3 June 2022 Pregaming might have been a smart move; long lines at stadium concessions were consistent throughout the early innings, causing fans to snake their way around and through the concourse. cleveland, 15 Apr. 2022 The discovery of secret passageways that snake through the building offer our central trio, and maybe this season’s mysterious villains, the chance to literally peek in on other people’s lives. Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 June 2022 See More
Noun
Add a truly creepy touch by threading a rubber snake through the eyes. Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Sep. 2022 Brad Pitt falls off a balcony, Margot Robbie prepares to fight a snake, and so much more chaos consumes the extremely bonkers first trailer for Damien Chazelle’s next film, Babylon. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 13 Sep. 2022 Legend has it that a snake hidden in one of the fruit baskets that the emperor sent to his daughter eventually took her life. CNN, 7 Sep. 2022 As unique as the 'Bunny' song is, so too is the music video, which has Dossi getting cozy with a very long and gnarly-looking snake. Tricia Despres, Peoplemag, 29 Aug. 2022 While Lawson’s story was about a nameless woman protecting her young from a deadly snake, Purcell’s movie (which is not an adaptation, to be clear) fleshes out the reality of Molly’s life. Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2022 The figure lay across a stone platform, atop a snake, with its feet extended into the lap of a smaller, headless female figure representing his wife, the goddess Lakshmi. Nicole Sadek, Washington Post, 15 Aug. 2022 Police were called to the Fogelsville home shortly after 2 p.m. Wednesday on a report of a man in cardiac arrest with a snake wrapped around his neck. From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 26 July 2022 The officers discovered a man lying on the floor with a snake tightly wrapped around his neck. Charmaine Patterson, PEOPLE.com, 25 July 2022 Verb
The fungus’s rhizomorphs—black, ropy, root-like growths—can snake through the soil for many meters, sniffing for vulnerable trees. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 15 Aug. 2022 Now, long lines snake outside gas stations on the eve of price hikes each month. Isabel Debre, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 July 2022 During the busy summer season, the line may snake up the sidewalk, but this charming three-meal-a-day venue, with its canopied patio for outdoor seating, is the kind of place worth waiting in line for. Brad Johnson, Bon Appétit, 1 July 2022 The liquified emissions would be shot through 2,000 miles of pipelines that would snake northward, gathering more carbon dioxide from more than 30 ethanol plants in five states before arriving at a storage site in Bismarck, North Dakota. NBC News, 19 Mar. 2022 From Halloween mantels and treat displays to snake wreaths and black cat cookies, these ideas are festive, stylish and on-brand for the night. Mariah Thomas, Good Housekeeping, 28 June 2022 Technical faults with Eurostar's gates meant that lines of people had to snake out of St Pancras station in London to wait hours to go through security and immigration control. Alex Ledsom, Forbes, 3 June 2022 Pregaming might have been a smart move; long lines at stadium concessions were consistent throughout the early innings, causing fans to snake their way around and through the concourse. cleveland, 15 Apr. 2022 The discovery of secret passageways that snake through the building offer our central trio, and maybe this season’s mysterious villains, the chance to literally peek in on other people’s lives. Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 June 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, from Old English snaca; akin to Old Norse snakr snake, Old High German snahhan to crawl
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1653, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Phrases Containing snake
Kids Definition
snake 1 of 2
noun
ˈsnāk
1
: a limbless reptile that has a long body with scales and feeds usually on large insects or small animals and birds
2
: a person who is mean or can't be trusted
snake
2 of 2verb
snaked; snaking
: to crawl, wind, or move like a snake
The parade snaked its way along Main Street.
Medical Definition
snake
noun
ˈsnāk
: any of numerous limbless scaled reptiles (suborder Serpentes synonym Ophidia) with a long tapering body and with salivary glands often modified to produce venom which is injected through grooved or tubular fangs
Geographical Definition
Snake
geographical name
ˈsnāk
river 1038 miles (1670 kilometers) long in the northwestern U.S. flowing from northwestern Wyoming across southern Idaho and into the Columbia River in Washington
snake 1 of 2
noun
1
as in serpent
a limbless reptile with a long body snakes are cold-blooded, so they regulate their body temperature by alternately basking in sunlight and seeking shade Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- serpent
- viper
- cobra
- rattlesnake
- python
- boa
- copperhead
- anaconda
- mamba
- constrictor
- adder
- moccasin
- racer
- taipan
- asp
- water snake
- krait
- bushmaster
- blacksnake
- garter snake
- worm snake
- gopher snake
- coral snake
- green snake
- milk snake
- bull snake
- pit viper
- rat snake
- sea serpent
- sea snake
- hognose snake
- fer-de-lance
- indigo snake
- pine snake
- chicken snake
- horned viper
- black racer
- diamondback rattlesnake
- water moccasin
- blue racer
- king snake
- king cobra
- sidewinder
- puff adder
- cottonmouth moccasin
2
as in dog
a person whose behavior is offensive to others why, that dirty, rotten snake! Synonyms & Similar Words
- dog
- clown
- jerk
- bastard
- skunk
- reptile
- beast
- toad
- joker
- rat
- creep
- swine
- brute
- heel
- idiot
- bugger
- varmint
- villain
- buzzard
- moron
- louse
- pill
- vermin
- hound
- fool
- cur
- slime
- rotter
- cad
- sod
- blighter
- stinker
- brat
- scum
- nuisance
- fink
- bounder
- scumbag
- slimeball
- stinkard
- boor
- schmuck
- barbarian
- bleeder
- dirtbag
- savage
- chuff
- sleaze
- cretin
- scuzzball
- crud
- lout
- sleazebag
- crumb
- slob
- sleazeball
- churl
- rat fink
- nerd
- so-and-so
- son of a gun
- caveman
- rogue
- rascal
- wretch
- scab
- booby
- turkey
- scoundrel
- pest
- loudmouth
- scamp
- lowlife
- vulgarian
- miscreant
- roughneck
- imbecile
- blockhead
- jackass
- nut
- dolt
- dope
- goon
- insolent
- nincompoop
- ninny
- snot
- airhead
- dink
- doofus
- snip
- Neanderthal
- birdbrain
- snob
- nit
- dork
- nitwit
- schmoe
- schmo
- dweeb
- half-wit
- snoot
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- hero
- lady
- idol
- gentleman
- heroine
- angel
- saint
- role model
3
as in traitor
one who betrays a trust or an allegiance what a snake she was—having an affair with my husband while I was in the hospital! Synonyms & Similar Words
- traitor
- serpent
- backstabber
- turncoat
- betrayer
- quisling
- double-crosser
- double-dealer
- Judas
- apostate
- subversive
- renegade
- collaborator
- subverter
- informant
- sellout
- conspirator
- schemer
- plotter
- collaborationist
- informer
- intriguer
- recreant
- coconspirator
- defector
- snitch
- deserter
- stool pigeon
- gossiper
- tattler
- squealer
- talker
- rat
- tattletale
- accommodationist
- snitcher
- blabbermouth
- rumormonger
- gossipmonger
- telltale
- talebearer
- gossip
snake
2 of 2verb
1
as in to lurk
to move about in a sly or secret manner snaking softly through the brush Synonyms & Similar Words
- lurk
- mouse
- sneak
- slip
- slide
- crawl
- steal
- worm
- slink
- ghost
- edge
- creep
- inch
- tiptoe
- shirk
- skulk
- pussyfoot
- pad
- mooch
2
as in to crawl
to move slowly with the body close to the ground commandos snaking through the grass toward the house Synonyms & Similar Words
- crawl
- slide
- creep
- worm
- belly
- slither
- crouch
- tiptoe
- wriggle
- squat
- edge
- inch
- grovel
- sneak
- steal
- nose
- skulk