snail

noun \ ˈsnāl \

Definition of snail

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

2 :a slow-moving or sluggish person or thing

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snaillike

play \ˈsnāl-ˌlīk\ adjective

See snail defined for English-language learners

See snail defined for kids

Examples of snail in a Sentence

go and tell the snails in the back to hurry up

Recent Examples of snail from the Web

The big candles on the coffee table were burned all the way down, and wax was drizzled all over the room like snail trails.

— alice anderson, Good Housekeeping, "After I Survived Hurricane Katrina, My Husband Violently Attacked Me," 16 Aug. 2017
The shell fishhooks even resemble the world's oldest known fishhooks, which were crafted from the shells of sea snails on Okinawa in Japan about 23,000 years ago.

— lizzie wade, Science | AAAS, "Most archaeologists think the first Americans arrived by boat. Now, they’re beginning to prove it," 10 Aug. 2017
With these predators gone, the snail population exploded.

— erik stokstad, Science | AAAS, "Pesticides could hike risk of catching a parasitic worm," 14 July 2017
Among the best offerings is the Escargot appetizer ($14), a marrow bone split lengthwise, roasted with an aromatic parsley sauce, then topped with large ebony snails in a wine-rich glaze.

— beth segal, cleveland.com, "Cru Uncorked: Almost very fine dining in Moreland Hills," 14 July 2017
Of course, a slime trail is a giveaway that there’s a snail or slug problem.

— margaret lauterbach, idahostatesman, "Garden pests come in all shapes and sizes," 12 July 2017
And to date, biologists studying other species have seen venom genes evolve at a breakneck pace: The conotoxins employed by cone snails, for example, are known to mutate rapidly.

— christie wilcox, Scientific American, "Moonlighting Genes Evolve for a Venomous Job," 10 July 2017
Seashell workshop For ages 7-12, discover predatory sea snails and make a craft.

— Washington Post, "Alexandria-Arlington community calendar, July 6-13, 2017," 5 July 2017
The case against Brunner has moved through the court system at a snail's pace, with numerous delays resulting from Brunner's many health issues, which have not been detailed in court.

— cary spivak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Onetime 'foreclosure king' Todd Brunner stays out of prison; judge cites extreme weight, health," 30 June 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.

Origin and Etymology of snail

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

snail Synonyms

Synonyms

crawler, dallier, dawdler, dragger, laggard, lagger, lingerer, loiterer, plodder, slowpoke, straggler

Antonyms

speedster

Related Words

latecomer; idler, lazybones, loafer, lounger, slouch, slug, sluggard; delayer, procrastinator

Near Antonyms

go-getter, hustler, scrambler; hurrier, rusher, speeder

snail

verb

Definition of snail

intransitive verb

:to move, act, or go slowly or lazily

Examples of snail in a Sentence

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

First Known Use of snail

1582

snail Synonyms

Synonyms

creak (along), creep, drag, inch, limp, nose, ooze, plod, poke, slouch, crawl

Antonyms

fly, race, speed, whiz (or whizz), zip

Related Words

lumber, shamble, shuffle, tramp, trudge

Near Antonyms

float, glide, sail; hurry, tear

SNAIL Defined for English Language Learners

snail

noun

Definition of snail for English Language Learners

: 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

SNAIL Defined for Kids

snail

noun \ ˈsnāl \

Definition of snail for Students

: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

Medical Dictionary

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