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boa constrictor

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noun
  1. a snake, Constrictor (Boa) constrictor, of tropical America, noted for its large size and its ability to suffocate a prey by coiling around it.
  2. any large snake of the boa family, as the python or anaconda.
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Origin of boa constrictor

First recorded in 1800–10
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for boa constrictor

Historical Examples

  • He had always thought it incredible that the boa-constrictor should be larger than any sea-snake.

    A Simpleton

    Charles Reade

  • Why doubt, then, that the sea can breed a snake to eclipse the boa-constrictor?

    A Simpleton

    Charles Reade

  • “And a giraffe, a crocodile, and a boa-constrictor,” said Jack.

    Off to the Wilds

    George Manville Fenn

  • “I told you that you had boa-constrictor habits,” she gasped.

  • We are not bound, like the boa-constrictor, to swallow all or none.

British Dictionary definitions for boa constrictor

boa constrictor

noun
  1. a very large snake, Constrictor constrictor, of tropical America and the Caribbean, that kills its prey by constriction: family Boidae (boas)
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012