gopher snake
Americannoun
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a bullsnake, Pituophis melanoleucus, of western North America, that invades burrows to prey on rodents.
Etymology
Origin of gopher snake
An Americanism dating back to 1830–40
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.
He expects many animals, like the gopher snake, made it through the fire by hunkering down in the cracks.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
Dr. Ditmars fed him a six-foot gopher snake, turned a hose on his conqueror.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
The gopher snake coiled, then slipped away silently through the grass.
From The Strength of the Pines by Marshall, Edison
A long, spotted gopher snake slipped through the dead grass on the ground beneath.
From The Strength of the Pines by Marshall, Edison
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.
