copperhead
Americannoun
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copperheads
plural
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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:
Today you could send me out onto the course with a bag containing a pogo stick, a copperhead and a mackerel, and I wouldn’t notice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
The North American copperhead, Agkistrodon contortrix, a type of pit viper.
From National Geographic ● Jul. 25, 2023
On more than one occasion he's found himself under a house or a trailer in the wee hours of darkness tracking down a copperhead or rattler that needs to be moved.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 18, 2022
If you do see a copperhead, leave it alone or call a professional to relocate the snake to a safer place.
From Washington Post ● May 31, 2022
How wise of the copperhead to know that Lamont would be back for his tail.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
Found throughout the eastern and southern U.S., copperheads can easily survive in developed areas like suburban neighborhoods, which is one of the reason the species is responsible for the most venomous snake bites every year.
From National Geographic ● Jul. 25, 2023
Farris says he's been doing local relocations for free for a couple of years, mostly rattlesnakes and copperheads.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 18, 2022
Keep an eye out for copperheads, big and small, when outside.
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
Thankfully, there’d been no signs of copperheads yet, but that didn’t stop Genie from keeping an eye out for them.
From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds
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.
