gopher snake

American  

noun

1. a bullsnake, Pituophis melanoleucus, of western North America, that invades burrows to prey on rodents.

2. indigo snake.

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Etymology

Origin of gopher snake

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40

Example Sentences

Dr. Ditmars fed him a six-foot gopher snake, turned a hose on his conqueror.

From Time Magazine Archive

But are they wise, and retiring, like the house-haunting gopher snake of the South?

From The Minds and Manners of Wild Animals A Book of Personal Observations by Hornaday, William Temple

A long, spotted gopher snake slipped through the dead grass on the ground beneath.

From The Strength of the Pines by Marshall, Edison

The gopher snake coiled, then slipped away silently through the grass.

From The Strength of the Pines by Marshall, Edison

The gopher snake was three or four feet long, and lay as straight as a stick across our path.

From A-Birding on a Bronco by Merriam, Florence A.