sea snake

American

noun

any of several venomous marine snakes of the family Hydrophidae, having a finlike tail.

sea snake British

noun

any venomous snake of the family Hydrophiidae, of tropical seas, that swims by means of a laterally compressed oarlike tail

"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

Etymology

Origin of sea snake

First recorded in 1745–55

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.

See Examples For:

sea snake

The yellow-bellied sea snake is one of about 65 to 75 species of “true” sea snakes, meaning they live their entire lives in the water and give birth to live young there, Crowell said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

Antivenom is also given to the Royal Flying Doctors, who access some of the nation's most remote communities, as well as Australian navy and cargo ships for sailors at risk of sea snake bites.

From BBC ● May 16, 2025

You can see some of the surprising new finds on the citizen science project Redmap, such as sightings of the tropical yellow bellied sea snake in Tasmanian waters.

From Salon ● Nov. 28, 2022

The sea snake does not want to bite you, they say.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 19, 2021

At first he thought he was looking at some kind of pregnant sea snake or a constipated eel.

From "Crash" by Jerry Spinelli

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023