pit viper

noun

: 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

Examples of pit viper in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The sudden appearance of a venomous pit viper named Gary De’Snake (Ke Huy Quan) sends the partners on a dangerous mission to find out why reptiles are outsiders in Zootopia and how Gary is connected to an old journal that contains the patent for the weather walls that create the city’s ecosystem. —Brian Truitt, USA Today, 25 Nov. 2025

Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman return for the sequel as detectives Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, who this time around are sent on a make-or-break mission chasing after mysterious pit viper Gary De’Snake (voiced by Ke Huy Quan) as his arrival disrupts the balance of the metropolis. —Kirsten Chuba, HollywoodReporter, 14 Nov. 2025

Yadong green pit vipers live in forests at elevations of about 6,000 feet, the study said. —Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 12 Sep. 2025

Note that all pit vipers — cottonmouths, copperheads and rattlesnakes — require the same antivenom, and most hospitals have a good supply on hand. —Brandi D. Addison, Austin American Statesman, 31 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1874, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for pit viper

• sandpiper
• diaper
• hyper
• piper
• riper
• sniper
• wiper

Kids Definition

pit viper

noun

: any of various mostly New World poisonous snakes that have a small pit on each side of the head and hollow fangs with holes in them

Medical Definition

pit viper

noun

: 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