slither

American  

[slith-er] / ˈslɪð ər /

verb (used without object)

• slithers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• slithered,
  past participle,  past
• slithering
  present participle

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.

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verb (used with object)

• slithers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• slithered,
  past participle,  past
• slithering
  present participle

1. to cause to slither or slide.

noun

1. a slithering movement; slide.

slither British  

/ 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

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noun

1. a slithering motion

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• slithery
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• slithering
  present
• slithered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• slither
  simple
• slithers
  simple
• have slithered
  perfect
• has slithered
  perfect
• am slithering
  progressive
• are slithering
  progressive
• is slithering
  progressive
• have been slithering
  perfect progressive
• has been slithering
  perfect progressive

Past

• slithered
  simple
• had slithered
  perfect
• was slithering
  progressive
• were slithering
  progressive
• had been slithering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will slither
  simple
• will have slithered
  perfect
• will be slithering
  progressive
• will have been slithering
  perfect progressive

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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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

slither slithers slithered slithering

"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

He still has that elastic yogi’s body and can still slither across the baseline.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026

A serpent might slither out during the winter if there’s a warm spell to get a bit of sunshine, said Greg Pauly, curator of herpetology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026

Still, he held on to a slither of hope.

From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026

Behind him, he heard the soft metallic slither of the lordling's ringmail, the rustle of leaves, and muttered curses as reaching branches grabbed at his longsword and tugged on his splendid sable cloak.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

"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

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

The movement of life inside me slithers like a snake in the water.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2022

The dragon’s teeth part, and a long, lavender tongue slithers toward Jeanne.

From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz

And while that last claim is somewhat breathless and overblown, the story told by Mr. Kerbaj teems with spies and spy catchers who could have slithered off the pages of John le Carré.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

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

Videos circulated online showing a snake handler removing one of the long black snakes that had slithered into the building - with onlookers screaming.

From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2026

The freedom to inspect the road and trees kept him occupied for a while, but then he tired of this constant inspection and slithered between Anya and Ivan.

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

But almost from the beginning, some people questioned whether a Gaboon viper really could be slithering through the Orange County city.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

The global rise in bond yields is like a boa constrictor squeezing the Budget maths, slowly and relentlessly, occasionally loosening its grip, but never actually slithering away entirely.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

I caught the film at a recent matinee in New Orleans, and children and adults alike gasped at Harryhausen’s movie monsters – from the looming metal colossus of Telos to the hissing and slithering Hydra.

From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026

Len Ramirez of Auburn, Calif., gave readers a slithering surprise in his 2015 My Ride column, which was photographed by Max Whittaker.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 28, 2025

They shook and rattled, their lower bodies slithering like snakes while their cuffs snapped and their collar heads clacked.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

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