pit viper
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About Our Definitions: All forms of a word (noun, verb, etc.) are now displayed on one page.pit viper
nounDefinition of PIT VIPER
: any of various mostly New World vipers (subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae) with a sensory pit on each side of the head and hollow perforated retractable fangs
See First Known Use of PIT VIPER
circa 1885
Rhymes with PIT VIPER
pit viper
noun (Medical Dictionary)Medical Definition of PIT VIPER
: any of various mostly New World highly specialized venomous snakes (as the rattlesnake, copperhead, water moccasin, and fer-de-lance) that belong to a subfamily (Crotalinae) of the family Viperidae, that have a small depression on each side of the head between the eye and the nostril, and that have hollow perforated fangs usually folded back in the upper part of the mouth but erected in striking
pit viper
noun (Concise Encyclopedia)Any species of viper (subfamily Crotalinae) that has, in addition to two movable fangs, a heat-sensitive pit organ between each eye and nostril which together help it accurately aim its strike at its warm-blooded prey. Pit vipers are found from deserts to rain forests, primarily in the New World. They may be terrestrial, arboreal, or aquatic. Some species lay eggs; others produce live young. See also bushmaster, copperhead, fer-de-lance, moccasin, rattlesnake.
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