snake (sneɪk
)
Definitions
noun
- any reptile of the suborder any reptile of the suborder Ophidia (or any reptile of the suborder (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 snake related adjectives colubrineophidian
- 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)
Alternative Forms
ˈsnakeˌlike adjectiveWord Origin
Old English snaca; related to Old Norse snākr snake, Old High German snahhan to crawl, Norwegian snōk snailTranslations
- British English:
snake
A snake is a long, thin reptile with no legs.sneɪk NOUN
- Spanish:
serpiente
nf
- French:
serpent
nm
- German:
Schlange
nf
- Chinese: 蛇 n
- Arabic: ثُعْبَان n
- Portuguese: cobra nf
- Russian: змея nf
- Croatian: zmija nf
- Czech: had nm
- Danish: slange nutr
- Dutch: slang n
- Finnish: käärme n
- Greek: φίδι nnt
- Italian: serpente nm
- Japanese: ヘビ n
- Korean: 뱀 n
- Norwegian: slange nm
- Polish: wąż nm
- Brazilian Portuguese: cobra nf
- European Spanish:
serpiente
nf
- Swedish: orm nutr
- Thai: งู n
- Turkish: yılan n
- Vietnamese: con rắn n
Usage examples
A thickening rope of water grew in front of her, swaying like a blind snake groping for its prey.
, THE GREENSTONE GRAIL: The Sangreal Trilogy One (2004)The software for making a robot wriggle like a snake is fairly straightforward.
New Scientist (2003)Wrong: They are only a few of them and they turn around and then return as if to make a long snake.
Globe and Mail (2003)We were to move away from our partners and find another snake to dance with!
Sun, News of the World (2000)Over several years, Hahnemann tested many simple substances (derived from herbs, minerals or snake venom).
, THE MEDICAL MYSTERIES E-OMNIBUS (2001)