snail
Americannoun
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any mollusk of the class Gastropoda, having a spirally coiled shell and a ventral muscular foot on which it slowly glides about.
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a slow or lazy person; sluggard.
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Machinery. a cam having the form of a spiral.
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Midwestern and Western U.S. a sweet roll in spiral form, especially a cinnamon roll or piece of Danish pastry.
noun
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any of numerous terrestrial or freshwater gastropod molluscs with a spirally coiled shell, esp any of the family Helicidae, such as Helix aspersa ( garden snail )
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any other gastropod with a spirally coiled shell, such as a whelk
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a slow-moving or lazy person or animal
Other Word Forms
- snail-like adjective
- snaillike adjective
Etymology
Origin of snail
before 900; Middle English snail, snayl ( e ), Old English snegel; cognate with Low German snagel, German (dial.) Schnegel
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.
Who would have thought serums infused with snail mucin - the sticky substance they secrete - would become a part of skincare routines around the world?
From BBC
No matter how much I’ve poked fun at my grandfather for driving like a snail my entire life, he continues to drive slowly on streets and freeways.
From Los Angeles Times
Everything slowed to a snail's pace and the backlog exploded.
From BBC
L'Escargot Des Grands Crus in Bouzy, near Reims, said it had been robbed of its entire stock of fresh and frozen snails - a "real blow" ahead of the holiday season.
From BBC
Conservationists and citizen scientists have joined forces for a project to save London's "charming little" ice-age hairy snail.
From BBC
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.
