snake
Use Snake in a sentence
noun
1.
any of numerous limbless, scaly, elongate reptiles of the suborder Serpentes, comprising venomous and nonvenomous species inhabiting tropical and temperate areas.
2.
a treacherous person; an insidious enemy. Compare snake in the grass.
3.
Building Trades.
a.
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.
b.
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)
4.
to move, twist, or wind: The road snakes among the mountains.
verb (used with object)
5.
to wind or make (one's course, way, etc.) in the manner of a snake: to snake one's way through a crowd.
6.
to drag or haul, especially by a chain or rope, as a log.
Origin:
before 1000; Middle English (noun); Old English snaca; cognate with Middle Low German snake, Old Norse snākr
before 1000; Middle English (noun); Old English snaca; cognate with Middle Low German snake, Old Norse snākr
Related forms
snake·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To snake
00:10
Snake
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
| to run away hurriedly; flee. |
| to bark; yelp. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
snake (sneɪk) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | 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: colubrine, ophidian |
| 2. | Also called: snake in the grass a deceitful or treacherous person |
| 3. | anything resembling a snake in appearance or action |
| 4. | (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 |
| 5. | a tool in the form of a long flexible wire for unblocking drains |
| —vb | |
| 6. | (intr) to glide or move like a snake |
| 7. | (US) (tr) to haul (a heavy object, esp a log) by fastening a rope around one end of it |
| 8. | (US) (tr), ( |
| 9. | (tr) to move in or follow (a sinuous course) |
| Related: colubrine, ophidian | |
| [Old English snaca; related to Old Norse snākr snake, Old High German snahhan to crawl, Norwegian snōk snail] | |
| 'snakelike | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
snake
O.E. snaca, from P.Gmc. *snakon (cf. O.N. snakr "snake," Swed. snok, Ger. Schnake "ring snake"), from PIE base *snag-, *sneg- "to crawl, creeping thing" (cf. O.Ir. snaighim "to creep," Lith. snake "snail," O.H.G. snahhan "to creep"). In Mod.Eng., gradually replacing
serpent in popular use. Meaning "treacherous person" first recorded 1590 (cf. O.C.S. gadu "reptile," gadinu "foul, hateful"). Snake eyes in crap-shooting sense is from 1929. Snake oil is from 1927. Snake-bitten "unlucky" is sports slang from 1957. The game of Snakes and Ladders is attested from 1907. Snake pit is from 1883, as a supposed primitive test of truth or courage; fig. sense is from 1941. Phrase snake in the grass is from Virgil's Latet anguis in herba [Ecl. III.93] Another O.E. word for "snake" was næddre (see adder).
snake
1653, "to twist or wind (something) into the form of a snake," from snake (n.). The intrans. sense of "to move like a snake" is attested from 1848; that of "to wind or twist like a snake" (of roads, etc.) is from 1875.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
snake definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences
Learn why it is the reptile of choice for exotic snake charmers.
It is not clear whether this snake will bring any great temptations.
The mere sight of a snake or spider strikes terror in the hearts of millions of people.
It's a mature industry, but you present it as snake oil.
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