copperhead
Americannoun
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a venomous snake, Agkistrodon (Ancistrodon ) contortrix, of the eastern and southern U.S., having a light-brown to copper-red body marked with darker bands.
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an extremely venomous but sluggish snake, Denisonia superba, of Australia and Tasmania, having a reddish to black body, depending on the region.
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Copperhead,
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U.S. History. a Northern Democrat who opposed the Civil War, advocating peace and restoration of the Union even if slavery continued.
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Military. a finned, 155 mm cannon-launched U.S. Army artillery shell that homes on the target, using the reflection of a laser beam projected by a forward observer.
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noun
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a venomous reddish-brown snake, Agkistrodon contortrix, of the eastern US: family Crotalidae (pit vipers)
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a venomous reddish-brown Australian elapid snake, Denisonia superba
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informal a Yankee supporter of the South during the Civil War
Etymology
Origin of copperhead
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.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note that outdoor workers who step on or near a copperhead are most likely to be bitten.
From National Geographic • Jul. 25, 2023
Of these snakes, two were venomous—one copperhead and one cottonmouth.
From Scientific American • Sep. 18, 2022
In one of Greene’s former cases, he met an avid triathlete in her 30s many weeks after she received a copperhead bite on the foot.
From Washington Post • May 31, 2022
Once, as we lifted the refrigerator, a copperhead bolted out and slithered over my sneaker.
From Slate • Dec. 24, 2018
“You can always tell a copperhead by its markings,” Daddy told me.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
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.
