cobra

1
[ koh-bruh ]
See synonyms for cobra on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. any of several highly venomous, Old World elapid snakes of the genera Naja and Ophiophagus, characterized by the ability to flatten the neck into a hoodlike form when disturbed.

  2. any of several similar, related African snakes, as the ringhals.

  1. leather made from the skin of a cobra.

  2. Cobra, Military. a single-engine, two-seat U.S. Army attack helicopter armed with missiles, rockets, and a 20 mm cannon and in service since 1977.

Origin of cobra

1
First recorded in 1810–20; short for cobra de capello

Words Nearby cobra

Other definitions for cobra (2 of 2)

cobra2
[ koh-bruh, kob-ruh ]

nounAustralian.
  1. head; skull.

Origin of cobra

2
First recorded in 1825–35, cobra is from the Dharuk word gabarā

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cobra in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cobra (1 of 2)

cobra

/ (ˈkəʊbrə) /


noun
  1. any highly venomous elapid snake of the genus Naja, such as N. naja (Indian cobra), of tropical Africa and Asia. When alarmed they spread the skin of the neck region into a hood

  2. any related snake, such as the king cobra

Origin of cobra

1
C19: from Portuguese cobra (de capello) snake (with a hood), from Latin colubra snake

British Dictionary definitions for COBRA (2 of 2)

COBRA

/ (ˈkəʊbrə) /


n acronym for
  1. (in the UK) Cabinet Office Briefing Room A: the civil contingencies committee that leads the UK's responses to crises such as terrorist attacks and epidemics

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