rattlesnake

[ rat-l-sneyk ]

/ ˈræt lˌsneɪk /

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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.

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Origin of rattlesnake

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

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