slither
Americanverb (used without object)
-
slithers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
slithered,
past participle, past
-
slithering
present participle
-
to slide down or along a surface, especially unsteadily, from side to side, or with some friction or noise.
The box slithered down the chute.
-
to go or walk with a sliding motion.
The snake slithered across the path.
verb (used with object)
-
slithers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
slithered,
past participle, past
-
slithering
present participle
noun
verb
-
to move or slide or cause to move or slide unsteadily, as on a slippery surface
-
(intr) to travel with a sliding motion
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
slithersimple
-
slitherssimple
-
have slitheredperfect
-
has slitheredperfect
-
am slitheringprogressive
-
are slitheringprogressive
-
is slitheringprogressive
-
have been slitheringperfect progressive
-
has been slitheringperfect progressive
Past
-
slitheredsimple
-
had slitheredperfect
-
was slitheringprogressive
-
were slitheringprogressive
-
had been slitheringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of slither
1150–1200; Middle English slitheren, variant of sliddren, Old English slid ( e ) rian, frequentative of slīdan to slide; see -er 6
Explanation
Slither means to move in a sideways motion, usually silently. Snakes, of all kinds, slither, from the original snake in the Garden of Eden, to that untrustworthy-looking individual who approaches you in the street. Slither comes from the Old English term slidrian, meaning "to slide on a loose or gravely surface." While slide is in some ways similar to slither, it lacks its truly nasty moral and physical associations. It's a safe bet that slitherers do not have your best interests at heart.
Vocabulary lists containing slither
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Hot to Trot: Animal Ambulation
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Beowulf: A New Telling
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
"It's incredibly hard to observe snakes in the wild before they slither away, so our knowledge about L. slashi is limited," says Ruane.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
Families and astronomers gathered at a site known locally as "top of the world" on Gaisby Lane, Shipley, to try to see a slither of the new crescent moon.
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2026
Still, he held on to a slither of hope.
From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026
Mystified, he wanders the dank halls of their rented palazzo and the fetid alleyways of the “pestilential city” where canal waters slither past like “a fat, grey-green worm.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025
Without a sound, it turned and began to slither away with surprising speed.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
"You take multiple pictures, sometimes over 100 and it takes tiny little slithers of focus, and then you put all those into software, and that creates your final image."
From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2025
Especially this kind of bullying Rodgers is engaging in, where he slithers away from direct conflict with Kimmel — which he'd fail at — and instead petulantly tries to inflict harm from afar.
From Salon ● Mar. 15, 2024
You stand stock-still until it quiets down and slithers on its way.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2023
In it, a humanoid form slithers back and forth, its movements startlingly alien.
From New York Times ● Dec. 29, 2022
It slithers and moves around in the pit of my stomach, growing bigger and bigger.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
Throughout the World Cup, the team slithered away from trouble again and again … until the final game.
From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026
But she clipped the wall of the halfpipe halfway down the course and slithered to the base, losing a ski.
From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026
Then, almost out of nowhere, replacement scrum-half George Horne slithered across the grass and into the corner, although Russell could not add the extras.
From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2026
They spontaneously linked together to form chains that slithered through some obstacles and surrounded other objects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2025
Moments later, Peshawa slithered through the Fifteens’ defenses and fired a shot that clanged into the chain-link fence of the backstop.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
Officials issued the alert Monday after a man shared with police an image appearing to show the dangerous reptile slithering from the thin branch of a tree onto the roof of a backyard shed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
I managed to hold it like that, balanced on the throttle, slithering and sidestepping, until I had to join the main straight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Set against a slithering, seductive Chicago house beat, it’s really more of a command, one that the Queen of Pop immediately follows with another decree: “Come on, meet me on the dance floor.”
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
In Guillermo Cienfuegos’ enlivening, if at times unsteady, production at A Noise Within, the role is played by Ann Noble, who forgoes the outdated hunchback but adopts a seething, slithering, perversely seductive aura of menace.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026
A rotting, glistening hand, slithering back beneath a black cloak...a long, rattling breath from an unseen mouth...then a cold so penetrating it felt like drowning....
From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
