cottonmouth

[kot-n-mouth]

noun

plural

cottonmouths 

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

cottonmouth

/ ˈkɒtənˌmaʊθ /

noun

1. another name for the water moccasin

Word History and Origins

Origin of cottonmouth¹

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

Example Sentences

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

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

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A rattlesnake often warned a body before it struck, but a cottonmouth might attack before folks even knew it was there.

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

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Snakes from a wide variety of habitats and ecological roles — including close relatives of the sidewinder rattlesnake, such as cottonmouths or diamondback rattlesnakes — have these prominent spikes on their bellies.

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