snail

1 of 2

noun

ˈsnāl 

1

: a gastropod mollusk especially when having an external enclosing spiral shell

2

: a slow-moving or sluggish person or thing

snaillike

ˈsnāl-ˌlīk 

adjective

snail

2 of 2

verb

snailed; snailing; snails

intransitive verb

: to move, act, or go slowly or lazily

Synonyms

Noun

• slug
• crawler
• slowpoke
• lingerer
• laggard
• straggler
• plodder
• dawdler
• dragger

Verb

• drag
• crawl
• creep
• poke
• shuffle

Examples of snail in a Sentence

Noun

go and tell the snails in the back to hurry up

Verb

the highway construction work created a bottleneck that had cars snailing for the next five miles

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

From an outdoor kitchen emerged a lavish feast: bruschetta topped with mangrove clams; squash soup with snails; fish fritters; sea-bass kinilaw—ceviche’s Filipino cousin—cured with lime and young-coconut vinegar. —Jeff Chu, Travel + Leisure, 16 June 2025

In Lake Victoria, the largest tropical lake in the world, rocky outcrops provide a home for freshwater snails. —Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 6 June 2025

Verb

The two perpetual calendar counters are also snailed, except for the central section of the one located at 9 o'clock. —Anthony Demarco, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025

The hour track is smooth, the minute track is snailed and the central area of the dial is finished with a vertical brush. —Anthony Demarco, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English snægl; akin to Old High German snecko snail, snahhan to creep

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1582, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing snail

• at a snail's pace
• moon snail
• snail darter
• snail fever
• snail mail
• snail-paced
• snail's pace

Rhymes for snail

• ail
• ale
• bail
• baile
• dail
• fail
• flail
• frail
• gael
• gail
• grail
• hail

Kids Definition

snail

noun

ˈsnā(ə)l

1

: any of numerous small mollusks that are gastropods usually with a spiral shell and that include some living on land and others living in water

2

: a slow-moving person or thing

Medical Definition

snail

noun

ˈsnā(ə)l 

: any of various gastropod mollusks and especially those having an external enclosing spiral shell including some which are important in medicine as intermediate hosts of trematodes