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

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

Later, an unruly king cobra is relocated from an exhibit to a holding pen.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 6, 2021

Curator of Reptiles Raymond L. Ditmars regards the huge king cobra of the Malay Peninsula, the largest of all poisonous serpents, as quite the wisest serpent known to him.

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