snake

[ sneyk ]

/ sneɪk /

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See synonyms for: snake / snaked / snaking / snakelike on Thesaurus.com

noun

any of numerous limbless, scaly, elongate reptiles of the suborder Serpentes, comprising venomous and nonvenomous species inhabiting tropical and temperate areas.

a treacherous person; an insidious enemy.Compare snake in the grass.

Building Trades.

Also called auger, plumber's snake. (in plumbing) a device for dislodging obstructions in curved pipes, having a head fed into the pipe at the end of a flexible metal band.
Also called wirepuller. a length of resilient steel wire, for threading through an electrical conduit so that wire can be pulled through after it.

verb (used without object), snaked, snak·ing.

to move, twist, or wind: The road snakes among the mountains.

verb (used with object), snaked, snak·ing.

to wind or make (one's course, way, etc.) in the manner of a snake: to snake one's way through a crowd.

to drag or haul, especially by a chain or rope, as a log.

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Origin of snake

before 1000; Middle English (noun); Old English snaca; cognate with Middle Low German snake,Old Norse snākr

OTHER WORDS FROM snake

snakelike, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use snake in a sentence

The fish are plentiful, but there are also venomous snakes, crocodiles, and even man-eating tigers.
Asia’s biggest climate migration|Konstantin Kakaes|November 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review
On the beach around the pond Cutler was dazzled by an assortment of “shells of different kinds, turtles, frogs, toads, lizards, water snakes, etc.”
When Science Was the Best Show in America - Issue 93: Forerunners|Lee Alan Dugatkin|November 18, 2020|Nautilus
The snake eats by “slowly cutting back and forth until it can put its head in.”
This snake rips open a living toad to feast on its organs|Erin Garcia de Jesus|November 16, 2020|Science News For Students
To find the closest veterinarian that treats snakes or the fastest route to school, you might type the relevant question into Google and then review its list of possible solutions.
Explainer: What is an algorithm?|Melissa L. Weber|November 12, 2020|Science News For Students

Because snake plants, or sansevieria, are so common, Gordon suggests going with a more interesting species of the genus.
Online plant sellers are having a moment. Here’s where to shop.|Lindsey Roberts|November 11, 2020|Washington Post
The frozen Yukon River, snaking its way to the Bering Sea, was visible from my window on the Cessna.
Visiting the Arctic Circle…Before It’s Irreversibly Changed|Terry Greene Sterling|April 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The line grew quickly and into the hundreds of people, snaking through the narrow hallways and out to Hiawassee Road.
Chaos Reigns at Florida Polls on Election Day|Winston Ross|November 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Elegant sheaths bore the marks of copper zippers snaking up the back and around the neckline.
Balenciaga, Dries Van Noten Kick Off Paris Fall 2012 Fashion Week|Robin Givhan|March 1, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Which meant we had to get into a long snaking line in order to turn over our unwieldy luggage.
My Disney Cruise from Hell|Laura Bennett|April 9, 2010|DAILY BEAST
They confirmed the discoveries by snaking listening devices and search cameras through tiny breaches in the concrete.
What Haiti Can Teach Chile|Joshua Robinson|March 1, 2010|DAILY BEAST
In a few minutes the stout chain was snaking its way down through the blue-green ocean.
Tom Swift and His Giant Telescope|Victor Appleton
The long, snaking hose filled and plumped out with snappings.
The Skipper and the Skipped|Holman Day
Snaking out again, he laid hold of the two bundles and the gun, and dragged them into shelter.
A Maid of the Silver Sea|John Oxenham
Jim decided to press Coyote and Piute into service for snaking the logs down.
The Frontier Boys in the Grand Canyon|Wyn Roosevelt
"We never were better in our lives," cried Tom, deftly catching a rope that came snaking down as the steamer's speed diminished.
The Bungalow Boys Along the Yukon|Dexter J. Forrester

British Dictionary definitions for snake

snake

/ (sneɪk) /

noun

any reptile of the suborder Ophidia (or Serpentes), typically having a scaly cylindrical limbless body, fused eyelids, and a jaw modified for swallowing large prey: includes venomous forms such as cobras and rattlesnakes, large nonvenomous constrictors (boas and pythons), and small harmless types such as the grass snakeRelated adjectives: colubrine, ophidian

Also called: snake in the grass a deceitful or treacherous person

anything resembling a snake in appearance or action

(in the European Union) a former system of managing a group of currencies by allowing the exchange rate of each of them only to fluctuate within narrow limits

a tool in the form of a long flexible wire for unblocking drains

verb

(intr) to glide or move like a snake

(tr) US to haul (a heavy object, esp a log) by fastening a rope around one end of it

(tr) US (often foll by out) to pull jerkily

(tr) to move in or follow (a sinuous course)

Derived forms of snake

snakelike, adjective

Word Origin for snake

Old English snaca; related to Old Norse snākr snake, Old High German snahhan to crawl, Norwegian snōk snail

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

snake

Origin of snake

OTHER WORDS FROM snake

Words related to snake

How to use snake in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for snake

Derived forms of snake

Word Origin for snake