snail

noun

\ ˈsnāl

Definition of snail

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

2 : a slow-moving or sluggish person or thing

snail

verb

snailed; snailing; snails

Definition of snail (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

: to move, act, or go slowly or lazily

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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

The snails were turned over to the U.S. Department of Agriculture; the food was destroyed. — USA TODAY, "Chicago cows, bras for turtles, gold rush: News from around our 50 states," 1 July 2019 Eradication efforts are ongoing after the snails were reintroduced in 2011. — Madeline Holcombe, CNN, "An invasive snail species was discovered in luggage at the Atlanta airport thanks to a pair of beagles," 30 June 2019 After the closure of the red abalone fishery, Freeling thought many who flocked to the coast from around the state for the tasty sea snail would come back for spearfishing. — Nick Rahaim, SFChronicle.com, "Without abalone, spearfishing hooks North Coast anglers," 17 June 2019 The tipster had suspected that the boxes held abalone, a type of edible sea snail often illegally harvested by divers in Northern California. — Antonia Noori Farzan, The Denver Post, "Popular succulents are being stolen from California parks and sold on the black market," 12 June 2019 Lavishly illustrated with photographs and maps, the book offers beauty both grand and intimate — even the lichen snails and toads get their due. — Lynda V. Mapes, The Seattle Times, "David Moskowitz captures the beauty — and fragility — of the Northwest’s mountain caribou," 11 Feb. 2019 Public housing rentals operated by the local housing authority have also grown at a snail’s pace, with 71 new units opening in this charming small town of 10,400 homes. — Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, ProPublica, "Separated by Design: How Some of America’s Richest Towns Fight Affordable Housing," 22 May 2019 In the test, which began March 16, 280,000 homes in Providence County are receiving snail-mail letters that direct residents to a survey website or toll-free phone number. — Washington Post, "2020 census test has critics counting concerns, not people," 7 Apr. 2018 Algae that clings to the bottom of sea ice blooms in spring, dies and sinks, sending an infusion of food to clams, snails and sea worms on the ocean floor — the prey of gray whales, walruses and bearded seals. — Dan Joling, The Seattle Times, "Pace of Bering Sea changes startles scientists," 16 Apr. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Cathy Jordan may die as this snails its way through the system. — Dara Kam, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Smokable medical pot case stays on hold," 3 July 2018 Cathy Jordan may die as this snails its way through the system. — Dara Kam, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Smoking medical marijuana not allowed while legal fight continues," 3 July 2018 The investigators found that hungry caterpillars, which usually gorge on tomato leaves, had no appetite for them after the plants were exposed to snail slime and activated their chemical resistance. — Erica Tennenhouse, Scientific American, "Plants “Eavesdrop” on Slimy Snails," 13 Apr. 2018 Payments for premiums still cannot be processed online - people have to snail-mail checks to a CGI processor in Nebraska. — Lynnley Browning, Newsweek, "Doubling Down on Obamacare," 6 Feb. 2014 Ten minutes of the second half snailed by without anything more exciting happening than Ryan Bertrand missing a two-yard pass to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. — SI.com, "England 1-0 Slovenia: Late Harry Kane Strike Sees England Qualify for World Cup 2018," 5 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'snail.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near snail

Statistics for snail

Last Updated

8 Jul 2019

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Time Traveler for snail

The first known use of snail was before the 12th century

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More Definitions for snail

snail

noun

English Language Learners Definition of snail

: a small animal that lives in a shell that it carries on its back, that moves very slowly, and that can live in water or on land

See the full definition for snail in the English Language Learners Dictionary

snail

noun

\ ˈsnāl

Kids Definition of snail

: a small slow-moving mollusk that has a spiral shell into which it can draw itself for safety and that can live either on land or in water

snail

noun

\ ˈsnā(ə)l

Medical Definition of snail

: 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