snake dance

or snake-dance

[ sneyk-dans ]

/ ˈsneɪk ˌdæns /

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noun Usually snake dance .

any ceremonial dance, such as that of the Hopi or Chickasaw people, in which snakes or representations of snakes are handled or imitated by the dancers.

a parade or procession, especially in celebration of a sports victory, in which the participants weave in single file in a serpentine course.Compare conga line (def. 3).

verb (used without object), snake danced, snake danc·ing.

to perform a snake dance.

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Origin of snake dance

An Americanism dating back to 1765–75

Words nearby snake dance

snakebit, snakebite, snakebite remedy, snakeblenny, snake charmer, snake dance, snake doctor, snake eyes, snake feeder, snake fence, snakefish

How to use snake dance in a sentence

The Eagles were having a snake dance and their band was parading, the forty pieces blaring triumphantly.
Betty Lee, Freshman|David Goodger (goodger@python.org)
Meantime the old ceremonies are going strong, the rain falls after the Snake Dance, and the crops grow.
The Unwritten Literature of the Hopi|Hattie Greene Lockett
The Snake Dance, so-called, is the culmination of an eight-days' ceremonial, an elaborate prayer for rain and for crops.
The Unwritten Literature of the Hopi|Hattie Greene Lockett
It is a replica of the Snake Dance, but shorter and simpler, and here corn is carried instead of snakes.
The Unwritten Literature of the Hopi|Hattie Greene Lockett

The writer has seen in the Snake Dance as many as nine groups of three, all circling the plaza at once.
The Unwritten Literature of the Hopi|Hattie Greene Lockett

British Dictionary definitions for snake dance

snake dance

noun

a ceremonial dance, performed by the priests of the American Hopi Indians, in which live snakes are held in the mouth

the swaying movements of snakes responding to a snake charmer
a Hindu dance in which performers imitate such snake movements

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