king cobra

American  

noun

1. a cobra, Ophiophagus hannah, of southeastern Asia and the East Indies, that grows to a length of more than 15 feet (5 meters): the largest of the venomous snakes.

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king cobra British  

noun

1. Also called: hamadryad.  a very large venomous tropical Asian elapid snake, Ophiophagus hannah, that feeds on snakes and other reptiles and extends its neck into a hood when alarmed

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Etymology

Origin of king cobra

First recorded in 1890–95

Compare meaning

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

• king snake vs. king cobra

Example Sentences

In their first adventure, which hit bookshelves in 2017, a deadly king cobra has escaped from London Zoo onto the streets of the capital, and it is up to Toto to save the day.

From BBC • Oct. 21, 2025

Jardine, Khalek and their colleagues tested the effect of 95Mat5 on mice injected with toxins from the many-banded krait, Indian spitting cobra, black mamba and king cobra.

From Science Daily • Feb. 21, 2024

In October, a venomous king cobra escaped from its terrarium at a zoo in Sweden but returned by itself after a week.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 15, 2022

From inch-long geckos to the iconic king cobra, at least 1,829 species of reptiles, including lizards, snakes, turtles and crocodiles, are threatened, the study found.

From New York Times • Apr. 27, 2022

At the sight of either of the two species of venomous snakes of the king cobra family this native takes to his heels, and if bitten the wound is not treated with ipoh.

From Through Central Borneo; an Account of Two Years' Travel in the Land of Head-Hunters Between the Years 1913 and 1917 by Lumholtz, Carl