snake

American  

[sneyk] / sneɪk /

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.

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.

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verb (used without object)

snaked, snaking

1. to move, twist, or wind.

   The road snakes among the mountains.

verb (used with object)

snaked, snaking

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 British  

/ 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

2. Also called: snake 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

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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)

Usage

What else does snake mean? Snake can be slang for a person who acts in a deceitful, underhanded, or backstabbing way.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• snakelike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of snake

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

Explanation

A snake is a long reptile without legs that moves by undulating, arching the bones in its back and pushing against the ground. A pet snake is easy to care for, unless you're squeamish about feeding it mice. Like other reptiles, snakes are covered in smooth scales. Unlike most, snakes have flexible jaws that allow them to eat things much wider than their own narrow bodies — if you see a big lump in the middle of a garter snake's body, you can be pretty sure it's just eaten a mouse. Because so many people are afraid of snakes (the vast majority of which are not poisonous), the word has also come to mean "treacherous or deceitful person." Snake is a verb as well, meaning "move like a snake."

Example Sentences

He expects many animals, like the gopher snake, made it through the fire by hunkering down in the cracks.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026

If the concept sounds like a snake eating its own tale, it’s meant to.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

Upton Heath is an internationally important area of heathland and home to all six of Britain's native reptiles, including the rare sand lizard and smooth snake.

From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026

Pygmy rattlesnakes showed especially high rates of snake fungal disease.

From Science Daily • May 26, 2026

Black cables snake between many of the holes.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Related Words

• serpent
• vermin