boa
Americannoun
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any of several nonvenomous, chiefly tropical constrictors of the family Boidae, having vestigial hind limbs at the base of the tail.
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a scarf or stole of feathers, fur, or fabric.
noun
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any large nonvenomous snake of the family Boidae , most of which occur in Central and South America and the Caribbean. They have vestigial hind limbs and kill their prey by constriction
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a woman's long thin scarf, usually of feathers or fur
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of boa
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin: water adder
Explanation
A boa is a type of snake that squeezes its prey. It's also a fluffy, feathered, colorful scarf. Don't confuse the two and wear a snake as a scarf! There are two types of boas: one is usually dangerous, and one is sometimes fashionable. The boa is a type of enormous serpent (also known as a boa constrictor) that squeezes its victims to death. Boas are mainly found in tropical regions. If you see a boa outside a zoo, you're in deep trouble. The other type of boa is more silly than scary: it's a long thin scarf that has either feathers or fur. If you are shopping for a boa, try to avoid coming home with the reptilian variety.
Vocabulary lists containing boa
Mixed Up
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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.
Powell compared China’s naval strategy around Taiwan to that of a boa constrictor, moving slowly to overpower its rival, rather than striking dramatically as a viper might.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 24, 2026
SGA, the stylish, maddening, smooth-operating Canadian point guard, is the head of the boa constrictor.
From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026
Dame Karen stood out in the largely male and often stale world of Washington in her colourful tailor-made suits, occasionally complemented with a feather boa.
From BBC • Feb. 8, 2025
"Each test is specific to a different snake species and was designed to detect DNA from the Burmese python, northern African rock python, rainbow boa and boa constrictor, ensuring no cross-detection among species."
From Science Daily • Nov. 22, 2024
Sky Witness’s strategy was to ring Mutal with a chain of client states and allies and then strangle it, boa constrictor-style.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
