serpent

American  

[sur-puhnt] / ˈsɜr pənt /

noun

• serpents
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• serpents
  plural

Etymology

Origin of serpent

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

Explanation

A serpent is a snake. If you keep a serpent as a pet, you may have to get used to feeding it live mice. While you're probably more likely to use the word snake for this slithery reptile, serpent tends to be the word that shows up in folk tales and mythology. Serpents have represented qualities ranging from evil to fertility to poison throughout history, and even today the symbol of medicine is a staff entwined by a serpent. The Latin root is serpentem, "creeping thing," from serpere, "to creep."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

serpent serpents

Seen from below, the table’s ebonized-birch legs also suggest, by turns, two figures kissing, ancient post-and-lintel architecture, an undulating serpent and a recumbent figure by Henry Moore.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

Father Carlos Martins, for example, produces an Exorcist Files podcast with 40,000 followers on YouTube that promises to take viewers through his experiences “battling the ancient serpent in many forms.”

From Slate ● Jun. 8, 2026

The name combines "Naga," a legendary serpent from Thai and Southeast Asian mythology, with "Titan," referencing the giants of Greek mythology.

From Science Daily ● May 15, 2026

Despite the uptick in serpent bites and related deaths, a fatal rattlesnake bite remains a rare occurrence.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

He went careening by, and Anya heard a dull whack as the serpent struck the side of the newcomer’s boot.

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

Like endless, dormant serpents, the colossal concrete casing of the pipelines stretched along the seabed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

The Southland has also seen more rattlesnakes, with two recent human fatalities, as the early heat draws more serpents onto hiking trails.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2026

Elapid snakes are venomous and among the deadliest serpents in the world.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 26, 2024

For starters, while scientists suspect the vast array of color morphs allow the serpents to better blend in with the multicolored environments they inhabit, no one can say for sure.

From National Geographic ● Feb. 13, 2024

The serpents struck the empty space around her, crashing into each other and winding themselves into knots.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Related Words

• snake
• viper