slither

[ slith-er ]
See synonyms for: slitherslitheredslitheringslithers on Thesaurus.com

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.

Origin of slither

1
1150–1200; Middle English slitheren, variant of sliddren,Old English slid(e)rian, frequentative of slīdan to slide; see -er6

Other words from slither

  • slith·er·y, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use slither in a sentence

  • I thought I was in the wood; James Mottram lay before me, done to death by that puffing devil we saw slithering by so fast.

    Studies in love and in terror | Marie Belloc Lowndes
  • The rolling truck door was open a crack and I dove for it, slithering out under it.

    Little Brother | Cory Doctorow
  • Comes a carriage with two fat bay horses slithering, almost swimming up the corkscrew high-street.

    Sea and Sardinia | D. H. Lawrence
  • Davidge hit the deck like a ball-player sliding for a base, and he went slithering to the edge.

    The Cup of Fury | Rupert Hughes
  • Every head was turned towards him, the glass-bright eyes fixed on his, and the tongues slithering with eagerness.

    The Woodlands Orchids | Frederick Boyle

British Dictionary definitions for slither

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

Origin of slither

1
Old English slidrian, from slīdan to slide

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012