rat snake
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of rat snake
First recorded in 1855–60
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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.
A TikTok of “The Traitors” and “Love Island” cast member Rob Rausch handling a rat snake.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026
The reptile, believed to be a non-venomous rat snake, was ushered off the grounds before the game between Galle Titans and Dambulla Aura resumed.
From BBC • Aug. 1, 2023
“The dearest baby gray rat snake was crossing our driveway the other day just as the dog and I were leaving for a walk.”
From New York Times • Jul. 15, 2023
Having chickens “couldn't be a more down-home, country, just warm feeling, so domestic and wonderful until you open the doors and there's a five-foot rat snake with an egg down it,” she says.
From Scientific American • Sep. 18, 2022
Papa had been talking about that place ever since George had brought the two-foot rat snake to school to show Mr. Landers—because they were studying reptiles!
From "I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912" by Lauren Tarshis
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.
