slither
Americanverb (used without object)
-
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)
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
- slithery adjective
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
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Hot to Trot: Animal Ambulation
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Beowulf: A New Telling
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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.
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
Now we get the “Slow-Lows,” bottom-feeders who slither on the ground and survive off leftovers from other creatures: earthworms or other easy-to-catch prey.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2025
In Monsoon’s episode, musical notes soar through the air and slither around characters to detain them, all special effects that were added as CGI in postproduction.
From Seattle Times • May 10, 2024
Vividly they came before him; he could have reached up and touched them, could feel the weight and slow slide with which The Mammoth Book for Boys would come out and slither down.
From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
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.
