slither

verb

slith·​er ˈsli-t͟hər 

slithered; slithering; slithers

intransitive verb

1

: to slide on or as if on a loose gravelly surface

2

: to slip or slide like a snake

transitive verb

: to cause to slide

Synonyms of slither

• snake
• crawl
• creep
• slide

Examples of slither in a Sentence

The snake slithered through the garden.

To get under the porch, I lay on my stomach and slithered like a snake.

She slithered quietly into the room.

He slithered his hand around her waist.

Recent Examples on the Web

The site covers around six square miles and is centered on the Castillo, or Kukulcán pyramid, where each equinox the shadow of a serpent appears to slither down the steps. —Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 3 June 2026

At the spring and autumn equinoxes, the shadow of a serpent appears to slither down the steps of the main Kukulcán pyramid. —Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 3 June 2026

Later, a rattlesnake slithered through the opening and killed Nate. —Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 1 June 2026

Despite his efforts in yelling for help, that hole ended up being the very thing that killed him as a rattlesnake slithered into the coffin and fatally attacked him. —Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 30 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English slideren, from Old English slidrian, frequentative of slīdan to slide

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for slither

• cither
• dither
• hither
• ither
• thither
• whither
• zither

Kids Definition

slither

verb

slith·​er ˈslit͟h-ər 

1

: to slide or cause to slide on or as if on a loose gravelly surface

2

: to slip or slide like a snake