snake pit
Americannoun
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a mental hospital marked by squalor and inhumane or indifferent care for the patients.
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an intensely chaotic or disagreeable place or situation.
Etymology
Origin of snake pit
First recorded in 1945–50
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.
“They’re in a snake pit, and they’ve got to be very careful.”
From MarketWatch • Oct. 15, 2025
“President Trump sent me into that snake pit at the United Nations for a reason,” Craft said.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 13, 2022
Social media will still be a snake pit on both sides.
From BBC • Dec. 2, 2021
That is a subjective statement — maybe newer, younger fans cherish nothing more than seeing whether a fire-breathing reliever can harness his nerves after parachuting into a snake pit.
From Washington Post • Oct. 7, 2021
It was hard enough for him to come out of total isolation at Garland without having to be dropped into the snake pit that was middle school.
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
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.
