blacksnake

American  

[blak-sneyk] / ˈblækˌsneɪk /

Or black snake

noun

1. Also called black racer.  a blackish racer, Coluber constrictor subspecies, of the eastern U.S., that grows to a length of 6 feet (1.8 meters).

2. any of various other snakes of a black or very dark color.

3. a heavy, tapering, flexible whip of braided cowhide or the like.

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blacksnake British  

/ ˈblækˌsneɪk /

noun

1. any of several Old World black venomous elapid snakes, esp Pseudechis porphyriacus ( Australian blacksnake )

2. any of various dark nonvenomous snakes, such as Coluber constrictor (black racer)

3. a long heavy pliant whip of braided leather or rawhide

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Etymology

Origin of blacksnake

An Americanism dating back to 1625–35; black + snake

Example Sentences

City Snake In Manhattan's Times Square district, one Thomas Taconet, night watchman, last week saw�and killed�a six-foot blacksnake.

From Time Magazine Archive

Helen Menken lashes the audience's breath away with a blacksnake whip in the second-act climax.

From Time Magazine Archive

“We’re in blacksnake habitat. Another reason for Alice and her pig to stop here.”

From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

The blacksnake, though he looks an ugly customer and, when cornered, will sometimes show fight, is not venomous and his bite is not deep.

From On the Trail An Outdoor Book for Girls by Beard, Lina

In fact, one of them was a famous story of her killing of a huge blacksnake.

From Famous Flyers And Their Famous Flights by Grayson, J. J.