western rat snake

noun

plural western rat snakes

: a large, nonvenomous rat snake (Pantherophis obsoletus synonym Pantherophis obsoleta synonym Elaphe obsoleta) of the central U.S. found west of the Mississippi River that is typically black with a white throat

Note: In an alternative classification system, the western rat snake is not considered a separate species but rather included within centrally distributed subspecies (Pantherophis obsoletus obsoletus and P. obsoletus lindheimeri) of a common rat snake.

compare eastern rat snake, gray rat snake

Examples of western rat snake in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For the purpose of this article, black rat snake is used to refer to the western rat snake, for which the species complex is named. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1975, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for western rat snake

• radiopaque
• ache
• ake
• bake
• brake
• break
• cake
• craik
• crake
• fake
• flake
• hake