boa constrictor

noun

: a tropical American boa (Boa constrictor synonym Constrictor constrictor) that is light brown barred or mottled with darker brown and reaches a length of 10 feet (3 meters) or more

broadly : boa sense 1

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Flickr/jinterwasWe all know that constrictor snakes, like pythons and boa constrictors, kill by squeezing their prey. —Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 28 Oct. 2015

This drought is like a boa constrictor. —Harold Maass, The Week, 17 Aug. 2021

The following month, a four-foot-long boa constrictor appeared on a security screen at the Tampa airport. —Andrea Sachs, Anchorage Daily News, 25 Feb. 2023

Prehistoric Snakes Spanning well over 40 feet from tip to tail, this colossal serpent — longer than a school bus and nearly as heavy as a shipping container — is thought to be a distant relative of boa constrictors and anacondas. —Alex Orlando, Discover Magazine, 22 Feb. 2023

Coiled up in a passenger's carry-on was a 4' boa constrictor! —Forrest Brown, CNN, 6 Jan. 2023

His young child, resting on his father’s chest following a hard day’s work of enriching young minds, had become infected while rubbing his face and hands on the same shirt that a boa constrictor had been slithering upon only hours earlier. —Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 24 Mar. 2014

Workers at Tampa International Airport discovered a 4-foot boa constrictor packed in a passenger’s luggage, authorities said Friday. —Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 7 Jan. 2023

That said, the boa constrictor approach of the defending champions should be too much in the end because the Buckeyes will have to play an almost perfect game and that's too much to ask. —USA TODAY, 30 Dec. 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

1771, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

boa constrictor

noun

boa con·​stric·​tor

-kən-ˈstrik-tər

: a brown tropical American boa that grows to 10 feet (3 meters) or longer