copperhead
Americannoun
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a venomous snake, Agkistrodon (Ancistrodon ) contortrix, of the eastern and southern U.S., having a light-brown to copper-red body marked with darker bands.
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an extremely venomous but sluggish snake, Denisonia superba, of Australia and Tasmania, having a reddish to black body, depending on the region.
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Copperhead,
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U.S. History. a Northern Democrat who opposed the Civil War, advocating peace and restoration of the Union even if slavery continued.
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Military. a finned, 155 mm cannon-launched U.S. Army artillery shell that homes on the target, using the reflection of a laser beam projected by a forward observer.
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noun
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a venomous reddish-brown snake, Agkistrodon contortrix, of the eastern US: family Crotalidae (pit vipers)
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a venomous reddish-brown Australian elapid snake, Denisonia superba
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informal a Yankee supporter of the South during the Civil War
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of copperhead
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.
See Examples For:
The North American copperhead, Agkistrodon contortrix, a type of pit viper.
From National Geographic ● Jul. 25, 2023
Of these snakes, two were venomous—one copperhead and one cottonmouth.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 18, 2022
“It happened a second time. I looked outside, and there was a copperhead sunning itself on the concrete pad. Ratcliff saved me from a nasty confrontation.”
From Washington Post ● Nov. 27, 2021
Once, as we lifted the refrigerator, a copperhead bolted out and slithered over my sneaker.
From Slate ● Dec. 24, 2018
“You can always tell a copperhead by its markings,” Daddy told me.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
According to Penn State, warm, humid nights after a period of rain are the best time to see copperheads.
From National Geographic ● Jul. 25, 2023
Today Pyle's group has more than 176,000 members eagerly exchanging information about the region's venomous rattlesnakes, copperheads, cottonmouths and coral snakes, as well as its nonvenomous rat snakes and water snakes, among other harmless species.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 18, 2022
Since 2021, the team has captured and relocated more than 50 copperheads in the Northern Virginia area.
From Washington Post ● May 31, 2022
Officials did not say what type of snake was thought to have bitten the animal, but copperheads and rattlesnakes have been found on the Outer Banks, The Charlotte Observer reported.
From Washington Times ● May 26, 2020
They pull back the chicken-wire lids on their hinges and reach into the boxes with hooked poles, pulling out two rattlesnakes and two copperheads.
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
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.
