serpent

American  

[sur-puhnt] / ˈsɜr pənt /

noun

1. a snake.

2. a wily, treacherous, or malicious person.

3. the Devil; Satan. Genesis 3:1–5.

4. a firework that burns with a serpentine motion or flame.

5. an obsolete wooden wind instrument with a serpentine shape and a deep, coarse tone.

6. Astronomy. Serpent, the constellation Serpens.

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serpent British  

/ ˈsɜːpənt /

noun

1. a literary or dialect word for snake

2. Old Testament a manifestation of Satan as a guileful tempter (Genesis 3:1–5)

3. a sly, deceitful, or unscrupulous person

4. an obsolete wind instrument resembling a snake in shape, the bass form of the cornett

5. a firework that moves about with a serpentine motion when ignited

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serpent Cultural  

1. The creature in the Book of Genesis that tempts Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, thus committing the first act of the Fall of Man. In the New Testament, the serpent of Genesis is identified with Satan.

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Etymology

Origin of serpent

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin serpent-, stem of serpēns “crawling”; Serpens

Example Sentences

Plan Kukulkan, named after the serpent deity of the Mayan civilization, covers the host cities as well as nearby tourist destinations.

From Barron's • Mar. 6, 2026

And as their fervor grows, so too does his confidence, an ouroboros of mutual reinforcement, a serpent devouring its own tail.

From Salon • Jan. 31, 2025

"I don’t know this snake, this snake don’t know me," she declared, then screamed as someone tried to remove the serpent from her body.

From BBC • Sep. 12, 2024

If the former, you need antivenom, but good luck telling from the mere glimpse of a tail you got as the serpent slithered into the underbrush.

From Science Magazine • Mar. 8, 2024

What does he want, the sneaking serpent? thought the boy.

From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Related Words

• snake
• viper