corn snake

American  

noun

1. a large, harmless rat snake, Elaphe guttata guttata, of the southeastern U.S., having yellow, tan, or gray scales with dark-red blotches: once common in cornfields but now an endangered species.

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Etymology

Origin of corn snake

An Americanism dating back to 1670–80

Compare meaning

How does corn-snake compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• rat snake vs. corn snake

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

corn snake

"They showed me an image that they'd taken, and I identified the snake as a corn snake."

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

The three snuggled at night in the same bed with extra sleeping bags and worried about their three pets: their dog Lucky, their cat Sullie and their corn snake Storm.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 17, 2024

He was and is a corn snake, 25 years old now, the longest-lived pet in the history of my family and my oldest friend — or tied with Colby, at least.

From New York Times ● Dec. 28, 2020

Once concerned customers pointed out the orange-and-white corn snake, which had made its way to the window ledge, bus operator Mick McArthur went to retrieve it.

From Fox News ● Apr. 28, 2019

When she first got Jake, an albino corn snake, he was no longer than a pencil, but I still refused to come over to her house.

From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy