snake 1 of 2

noun

ˈsnāk How to pronounce snake (audio)
Definition of snakenext
1
as in serpent
a limbless reptile with a long body snakes are cold-blooded, so they regulate their body temperature by alternately basking in sunlight and seeking shade

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2
as in dog
a person whose behavior is offensive to others why, that dirty, rotten snake!

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in traitor
one who betrays a trust or an allegiance what a snake she was—having an affair with my husband while I was in the hospital!

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snake

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to lurk
to move about in a sly or secret manner snaking softly through the brush

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2
as in to crawl
to move slowly with the body close to the ground commandos snaking through the grass toward the house

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Example Sentences

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 snake
Noun
The snakes are also some of the largest in the world, and are often measured at about six to nine feet in length. — Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 7 Aug. 2026 While Tom Rahill walked away with the $10,000 grand prize for removing 96 snakes, Rahm Levinson won $1,000 with the longest python measuring an impressive 16-feet, five-inches. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 6 Aug. 2026
Verb
Towering over the Central Business District and the snaking ribbon of the Waller Creek Greenbelt Trail, this 37-story hotel stands out amidst the Austin skyline. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 July 2026 At the bus stop, there was a queue of chartered double-decker buses and a vast crowd, mostly men in blue business suits, snaked four times around the car park, waiting to board the vehicles. — David Szondy july 23, New Atlas, 23 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for snake
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snake
  1. serpent
  2. dog
  3. traitor
  4. lurk
  5. crawl
  6. viper
  7. jerk
  8. sneak
Noun
  • Staff at the publication viewed video that showed water streaming into a gallery containing WangShui’s oppose the serpent, 2024, an ink-on-aluminum work of heroic proportions.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 20 July 2026
  • According to the ancient Greeks, a mighty serpent called Ophion incubated an enormous egg that hatched into the universe and all its inhabitants.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 July 2026
Definition of serpent
Noun
  • Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, had a number of dogs throughout their life.
    — Audrey Schmidt, PEOPLE, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Things get increasingly bleak, as the family dog’s heart medicine runs out and Jason has to put him out of his misery, and then — in doomsday prepper mode — carves up the body and puts it in the freezer just in case food gets dire.
    — William Earl, Variety, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of dog
Noun
  • His tenure was upended by the arrest of Aldrich Ames, a CIA traitor.
    — Bob Drogin, Washington Post, 22 July 2026
  • In reality, the big debate has been about questions such as whether military bases should be named for traitors and whether governments should host monuments to a rebellion to defend slavery.
    — David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 21 July 2026
Definition of traitor
Verb
  • Statum has heard horror-stories about predators lurking on Instagram or Snapchat.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Aug. 2026
  • The city of Atlanta has jurisdiction over Hartsfield-Jackson, but the threat of a state takeover of the world’s busiest airport has lurked in the background of Georgia politics for years.
    — Tia Mitchell, AJC.com, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of lurk
Verb
  • Past that, Xbox has to figure out how to crawl out of the hole that is its console market, which has cratered in recent years.
    — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The feat, says study coauthor and NSO senior scientist Friedrich Wöger, is equivalent to seeing ants crawling on Earth’s surface from an altitude of 100 miles (about 160 km).
    — Lee Billings, Scientific American, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of crawl
Noun
  • Russell’s viper Russell’s viper is responsible for thousands of serious snakebites across South and Southeast Asia.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Hassabis, who won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2024 for pioneering the use of AI in protein prediction, is based in London and has largely avoided the viper pit created by the bare-knuckle AI race playing out in Silicon Valley.
    — Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 15 July 2026
Definition of viper
Noun
  • That screwed up the works / And not due to his sloppy hiring / Of a crew of incompetent jerks.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Kris and Billy watch that one together in an intimate sleepover, sinking into the murky texture of a scene in which the virginal actor allowed a jerk to take off her clothes.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of jerk
Verb
  • Most recently, Hadid seemingly snuck a photo of Cooper in a July Instagram carousel.
    — Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Aug. 2026
  • No matter where his assistant coaches went while at Alabama, former coach Nick Saban always had a watchful eye on his staff members who would sneak out of the office for a round of golf.
    — Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of sneak

Phrases Containing snake

Browse Nearby Words

snails
snake
snakebit
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Cite this Entry

“Snake.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snake. Accessed 12 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on snake

Nglish: Translation of snake for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about snake

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