Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

cottonmouth

American  
[kot-n-mouth] / ˈkɒt nˌmaʊθ /

noun

cottonmouths plural
  1. a venomous snake, Agkistrodon (Ancistrodon ) piscivorus, of swamps in southeastern U.S., that grows to about 4 feet (1.2 meters).


cottonmouth British  
/ ˈkɒtənˌmaʊθ /

noun

  1. another name for the water moccasin

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of cottonmouth

1825–35, cotton + mouth, so called from the whiteness of its lips and mouth

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:

Fortune said he’d seen plenty of cottonmouth snakes and rattlesnakes in Texas, and he’d once come across a 5-foot bullsnake.

From Washington Post Jan. 3, 2023

Of these snakes, two were venomous—one copperhead and one cottonmouth.

From Scientific American Sep. 18, 2022

And the previous homeowners had found venomous snakes on the property, including a cottonmouth coiled by the pool.

From Scientific American Sep. 18, 2022

This federally owned land, essentially a scrubby marsh with partially waterlogged woodland, home to bears and cottonmouth snakes, spans around 250,000 acres.

From The Guardian Mar. 7, 2019

Clare yipped as another cottonmouth came in for a closer look and took a blow that sent it flying.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

They can even handle the bite from venomous snakes such as cottonmouths, timber rattlesnakes and copperheads.

From Washington Post Aug. 24, 2022

The world hosts hundreds of wildly different venomous snake species, from brightly banded coral snakes to camouflaged cottonmouths.

From Scientific American Nov. 26, 2021

If cottonmouths swam through our lakes and rivers, what else might be hiding there?

From New York Times Dec. 28, 2020

Rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, coral snakes—bites from all will be painful at least, deadly at most.

From Golf Digest May 3, 2018

The cottonmouths drew out of the water, their slitted pupils narrowing on Clare.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training