SNAILS Synonyms: 53 Similar and Opposite Words

snails 1 of 2

noun

plural of snail

as in slugs

someone who moves slowly or more slowly than others go and tell the snails in the back to hurry up

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snails

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of snail

as in crawls

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

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of snails

Noun

Aquarium officials received some 500 marine animals from that operation on June 19, taking in an array of fish, sharks, clams, shrimp, prawns and tiny snails. — John Donegan Long Beach Post, Arkansas Online, 15 Sep. 2026 Zebra sharks tend to rest on reef floors, regulating bottom-dwelling prey such as snails, clams, crabs, shrimp and small fish, an important part of maintaining thriving ecosystems. — Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026 That includes September’s Aloha Festivals celebrating Hawaiian traditions and the annual Kāhuli Festival at the Bishop Museum in October, a unique family-friendly event spotlighting the vital role of Hawaiian land snails in preserving biodiversity. — Beth Luberecki, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026 Scientists rescued 34 endangered humped tree snails from Guam by collecting them in empty peanut butter jars ahead of a powerful typhoon. — Brittney Melton, NPR, 27 Aug. 2026 She and her hundreds of pet snails are visited by a young man named Edward Ridgeway (Alden Ehrenreich) who has been sent by her American publisher to convince her to sign a contract to write one more Ripley novel. — Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 26 Aug. 2026 At Carter Lake, boat inspection checkpoints are now looking for the snails in addition to other invasive species, such as zebra mussels. — Dillon Thomas, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026 All of this is served with a swirl of rice noodles and a broth scented with the earthy, slightly mushroomy aromas of river snails. — Warren Rojas, Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2026 Insects belong to the kingdom Animalia, along with mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, octopuses, snails, jellyfish, worms, and many other groups. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for snails

Noun

With the light load of powder that was behind them, these slugs couldn’t possibly have killed the tigress unless an extremely lucky shot had put them into a vital area at very close range.

— Leslie E. Tassell, Outdoor Life, 27 Aug. 2026
Remember to bury the container deep enough to let the slugs in and out.

— Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of slugs

Verb

Hairy-nosed wombat births are hard to spot, as after about a 30-day pregnancy, the joey crawls into its mother’s pouch.

— Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 16 Aug. 2026
Researchers have developed a new control framework that enables humanoid robots to perform agile movements, including army crawls, breakdancing and backflips.

— Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of crawls

Noun

The daffodils here were almost finished, apart from one little patch of stragglers still flowering on heroically against the odds.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2026
Earnings season is winding down, but a few stragglers in the portfolio are still left to report this week.

— Zev Fima, CNBC, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of stragglers

Verb

Saudi Arabia also is running low on interceptors and has turned to regional and Western allies for assistance as its standoff with Houthi rebels in Yemen drags on.

— Ben Finley, Chicago Tribune, 19 Sep. 2026
But as the war drags on into another winter, its impacts on the region could become more pronounced.

— John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of drags

Noun

The crawlers wander about the plants for a short period of time and then begin to feed and create a waxy covering.

— Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2026
Giant sectionals gave space for everyone to sit in the first floor living room, with plenty of floor space for crawlers and new walkers to safely explore.

— Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of crawlers

Verb

However, if light still creeps in under the door or the edges of windows, try light blocking foam or strips, which may be sold as draft stoppers or weatherproofing materials.

— Sandee LaMotte, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2026
Nic Antaya / Getty Images As the calendar creeps toward September, the Detroit Red Wings are still conducting their search for their next general manager.

— Max Bultman, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of creeps

Verb

Bryan gets attacked by a dog, who pokes its head through a barn wall…and then the dog’s face splits apart like a flower, with tentacles shooting out.

— Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026
Natural light pokes through the windows, adding a trademark freshness to an indoor coliseum.

— Alec Lewis, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of pokes

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snail-paced

snails

snake

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“Snails.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snails. Accessed 25 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of snails

noun

verb

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