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spitting cobra

American  

noun

  1. any cobra or cobralike snake, especially the ringhals, that sprays venom at the eyes of approaching animals.


Etymology

Origin of spitting cobra

First recorded in 1905–10

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.

Carse produced a lifter to Usman Khawaja so venomous it could have been a spitting cobra.

From BBC • Nov. 21, 2025

Currently, there is no effective treatment for tackling severe local envenoming caused by spitting cobra venom.

From Science Daily • May 7, 2024

Instead, the escape artist turned out to be a type of spitting cobra native to Africa.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 2, 2021

Forget about the arm for a minute, that implausibly strong, tensile, spitting cobra of an arm.

From Washington Post • Feb. 4, 2021

His head is shaped like a pear standing on its stem and has two eyes spaced about six inches apart and they are as friendly as those of a spitting cobra irked by hives.

From Operation Earthworm by Archibald, Joe

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