slither

American  

[slith-er] / ˈslɪð ər /

verb (used without object)

• slithers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• slithered,
  past participle,  past
• slithering
  present participle

1. to slide down or along a surface, especially unsteadily, from side to side, or with some friction or noise.

   The box slithered down the chute.

2. to go or walk with a sliding motion.

   The snake slithered across the path.

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verb (used with object)

• slithers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• slithered,
  past participle,  past
• slithering
  present participle

1. to cause to slither or slide.

noun

1. a slithering movement; slide.

slither British  

/ ˈslɪðə /

verb

1. to move or slide or cause to move or slide unsteadily, as on a slippery surface

2. (intr) to travel with a sliding motion

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noun

1. a slithering motion

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• slithery
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• slithering
  present
• slithered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• slither
  simple
• slithers
  simple
• have slithered
  perfect
• has slithered
  perfect
• am slithering
  progressive
• are slithering
  progressive
• is slithering
  progressive
• have been slithering
  perfect progressive
• has been slithering
  perfect progressive

Past

• slithered
  simple
• had slithered
  perfect
• was slithering
  progressive
• were slithering
  progressive
• had been slithering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will slither
  simple
• will have slithered
  perfect
• will be slithering
  progressive
• will have been slithering
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of slither

1150–1200; Middle English slitheren, variant of sliddren, Old English slid ( e ) rian, frequentative of slīdan to slide; see -er ⁶

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Explanation

Slither means to move in a sideways motion, usually silently. Snakes, of all kinds, slither, from the original snake in the Garden of Eden, to that untrustworthy-looking individual who approaches you in the street. Slither comes from the Old English term slidrian, meaning "to slide on a loose or gravely surface." While slide is in some ways similar to slither, it lacks its truly nasty moral and physical associations. It's a safe bet that slitherers do not have your best interests at heart.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

slither slithers slithered slithering

"It's incredibly hard to observe snakes in the wild before they slither away, so our knowledge about L. slashi is limited," says Ruane.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

An unseasonable weather pattern that included heavy rain and sweltering heat served as a signal for rattlesnakes to slither out of their underground winter burrows in search of food and mates.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026

Still, he held on to a slither of hope.

From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026

Mystified, he wanders the dank halls of their rented palazzo and the fetid alleyways of the “pestilential city” where canal waters slither past like “a fat, grey-green worm.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025

In late spring, as the days grow longer and warmer, the snakes will all slither back to their thinking spots.

From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers

"You take multiple pictures, sometimes over 100 and it takes tiny little slithers of focus, and then you put all those into software, and that creates your final image."

From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2025

She imagines standing alone in a nondescript finished office basement as a giant snake slithers by.

From New York Times ● Jan. 25, 2024

Once it has a plan in place, the 14-foot-long robot lowers its head, engages its 48 motors and slowly slithers forward.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2023

You stand stock-still until it quiets down and slithers on its way.

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2023

It slithers and moves around in the pit of my stomach, growing bigger and bigger.

From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung

And while that last claim is somewhat breathless and overblown, the story told by Mr. Kerbaj teems with spies and spy catchers who could have slithered off the pages of John le Carré.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Throughout the World Cup, the team slithered away from trouble again and again … until the final game.

From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026

It is thought the reptile had escaped from his owner's house in Bridlington and slithered inside a nearby car and was unknowingly transported up the coast to Scarborough.

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

In “Modern Times,” the Little Tramp slithered through a factory’s giant gears.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026

Håkon slithered up and coiled again, tucking his legs inside the coil so he just looked like an enormous red zmeyok.

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

But almost from the beginning, some people questioned whether a Gaboon viper really could be slithering through the Orange County city.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

The global rise in bond yields is like a boa constrictor squeezing the Budget maths, slowly and relentlessly, occasionally loosening its grip, but never actually slithering away entirely.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

I caught the film at a recent matinee in New Orleans, and children and adults alike gasped at Harryhausen’s movie monsters – from the looming metal colossus of Telos to the hissing and slithering Hydra.

From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026

The promotional contents within tap into parents’ grief with a slithering sort of sympathy: “You want more time together . . . you’re not ready to forget.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Instead, slithering toward them like a twisting piece of black string, was a snake.

From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin

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Related Words

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