anaconda
1 Americannoun
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a South American boa, Eunectes murinus, that often grows to a length of more than 25 feet (7.6 meters).
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any large boa.
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Cards. a variety of poker in which each player is dealt seven cards, discards two, and turns up one of the remaining five before each betting round.
noun
noun
Etymology
Origin of anaconda
1760–70; misapplication of a name originally used for a snake of Sri Lanka; earlier anacandaia < Sinhalese henakandayā kind of snake
Explanation
An anaconda is an enormous South American boa snake that's a great swimmer. Adult anacondas are large enough to prey on deer, capybaras, and even young jaguars. Anacondas spend most of their time in swamps and rivers. They are non-venomous, constrictor snakes that suffocate their prey and eat it whole. The green anaconda is the largest snake in the world by weight, with females growing up to 500 pounds and about 17 feet long. It is one of very few snakes that is theoretically big enough to eat a human — but that has never happened. Etymologists have various theories about the origin of the word anaconda, including the Tamil anaikkonda, "having killed an elephant."
Vocabulary lists containing anaconda
South America - Middle School
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South America - Introductory
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South America - High School
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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.
Uranium is a big theme for Anaconda, which invests in both the commodity itself as well as miners, but he advises patience.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 29, 2026
"Anaconda," the new meta comedy action flick starring Paul Rudd and Jack Black as friends trying to reboot the original 1997 horror film, finished in fifth place with $10 million.
From Barron's • Jan. 4, 2026
It's located in a neighbourhood of Anaconda called Goosetown.
From BBC • Aug. 1, 2025
“It’s very frustrating because I’m here in Montana trying to organize this search,” Ms. Keltgen, who runs a petting zoo in Anaconda, Mont., said in an interview on Saturday.
From New York Times • May 4, 2024
Practically all the Yankee experts in the Katanga are graduates of the Anaconda or Utah Mines.
From An African Adventure by Marcosson, Isaac Frederick
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.