slither

[slith-er]

verb (used without object)

1. 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.

2. to go or walk with a sliding motion.

   The snake slithered across the path.

verb (used with object)

1. to cause to slither or slide.

noun

1. a slithering movement; slide.

slither

/ ˈslɪðə /

verb

1. to move or slide or cause to move or slide unsteadily, as on a slippery surface

2. (intr) to travel with a sliding motion

noun

1. a slithering motion

Other Word Forms

• slithery adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of slither¹

1150–1200; Middle English slitheren, variant of sliddren, Old English slid ( e ) rian, frequentative of slīdan to slide; -er ⁶

Word History and Origins

Origin of slither¹

Old English slidrian, from slīdan to _slide

Example Sentences

He slithered past her and moved ’round Penelope like a tiger circling its prey.

Read more on Literature

After their snake handler’s docile specimen has an onset mishap, the real thing slithers into view.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

They spontaneously linked together to form chains that slithered through some obstacles and surrounded other objects.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

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.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Early on, there’s a wedding scene when David thinks he’s fumbled it with Sarah and he stands on the sidelines of the dance floor watching her slither up to some other guy.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• crawl 
• glide 
• skid 
• slink 
• sneak 
• wriggle