boa constrictor
Americannoun
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boa constrictors
plural
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a snake, Constrictor (Boa ) constrictor, of tropical America, noted for its large size and its ability to suffocate a prey by coiling around it.
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any large snake of the boa family, as the python or anaconda.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of boa constrictor
First recorded in 1800–10
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.
Powell compared China’s naval strategy around Taiwan to that of a boa constrictor, moving slowly to overpower its rival, rather than striking dramatically as a viper might.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
SGA, the stylish, maddening, smooth-operating Canadian point guard, is the head of the boa constrictor.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
The list of non-mammalian animals that made their way from south to north includes a boa constrictor, a crocodile and frogs.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 20, 2024
A boa constrictor spotted by police in the middle of a busy road in Birmingham gave officers an "off-the-scale" shock, the West Midlands force has said.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2023
The vine came after him and wrapped around him, as if it had a life of its own, as if it was a boa constrictor attacking its dinner.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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.
