rattlesnake

[ rat-l-sneyk ]

/ ˈræt lˌsneɪk /

Save This Word!

noun

any of several New World pit vipers of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus, having a rattle composed of a series of horny, interlocking elements at the end of the tail.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of rattlesnake

An Americanism dating back to 1620–30; rattle¹ + snake

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use rattlesnake in a sentence

A respondent from New Mexico said he or she owns a “.22 pistol to shoot rattlesnakes only in my yard.”
Readers Weigh In After Newtown Shooting: Why Own a Gun?|Matthew DeLuca|December 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Hairoil turned some shoats into a rock patch he owned and cleaned out the rattlesnakes.
Alec Lloyd, Cowpuncher|Eleanor Gates
They fired me for bringing in a couple of rattlesnakes and—and assaulting a teacher.
The Varmint|Owen Johnson
The rattlesnakes were very numerous, for one day I killed seven.
A Tramp's Notebook|Morley Roberts

In the temple a great quantity of rattlesnakes, kept as sacred objects were fed with the entrails of the victims.
South American Fights and Fighters|Cyrus Townsend Brady
Rattlesnakes are reported to have subsisted many months without any food, yet still retained their vigour and fierceness.
The Book of Curiosities|I. Platts

British Dictionary definitions for rattlesnake

rattlesnake

/ (ˈrætəlˌsneɪk) /

noun

any of the venomous New World snakes constituting the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus, such as C. horridus (black or timber rattlesnake): family Crotalidae (pit vipers). They have a series of loose horny segments on the tail that are vibrated to produce a buzzing or whirring sound

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012