1
as in serpents
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in dogs
a person whose behavior is offensive to others
why, that dirty, rotten snake!
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in traitors
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!
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 snakes
Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 16 Apr. 2026
Remove woodpiles, brush piles, dense vegetation, and ground cover, and this takes away hiding spots for snakes and their food sources.
—Rae Ford, Martha Stewart, 11 Apr. 2026
During construction, Black men shoveled mud through malarial swamps, while battling snakes and alligators in intense heat.
—Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026
The snakes are typically shy around bigger animals and instead feed on mice and other rodents.
—Don Sweeney
april 9, Sacbee.com, 9 Apr. 2026
One of the snakes later died after being rescued, and multiple dead snakes were also found in the garage, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
—Amaia Gavica, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2026
Glenn has been hunting snakes for 25 years.
—Dr. C. E. Kuschel, Outdoor Life, 9 Apr. 2026
Still, snakes may emerge during a winter warm spell to bask in the sun, said Greg Pauly, curator of herpetology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2026
Literary Hub, 14 Apr. 2026
Londoners won’t queue for just anything, but the coffee and pastries at Jolene are well worth joining the line that often snakes around the corner.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Apr. 2026
To accommodate the mass of passengers, the line snakes through baggage claim and around the terminal.
—Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 26 Mar. 2026
Miraculously, the line of people that usually snakes down Melrose yearning for a slice of chef Karla Subero Pittol’s passion lime fruit icebox pie is nonexistent today.
—Julissa James, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026
In southwest Russia, where the border with eastern Ukraine snakes down to the Sea of Azov, lies the city of Rostov-on-Don, which serves as the headquarters of Russia’s Southern Military District.
—Sophie Spiegelberger, New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2026
From the mouth of Lake of the Woods, the Warroad River snakes through the middle of the city limits, a few blocks from the headquarters of Marvin Windows and Doors, the employer as synonymous with the town as the sport of hockey.
—Dave Campbell, Chicago Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026
Make the Road Action and New York Communities for Change backed Reynoso over rival Assemblywoman Claire Valdez in the battle for the deep-blue district that snakes through parts of northern Brooklyn and western Queens.
—Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 13 Jan. 2026
The skating ribbon at Maggie Daley Park in Chicago is an artificial trail that snakes a quarter-mile around towering climbing walls, with glittering skyscrapers for a backdrop.
—Ginger Crichton, Midwest Living, 9 Jan. 2026
Noun
The reptile guys are all just a bunch of normal schmucks looking to go find snakes.
—Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 16 Apr. 2026
Remove woodpiles, brush piles, dense vegetation, and ground cover, and this takes away hiding spots for snakes and their food sources.
—Rae Ford, Martha Stewart, 11 Apr. 2026
During construction, Black men shoveled mud through malarial swamps, while battling snakes and alligators in intense heat.
—Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026
The snakes are typically shy around bigger animals and instead feed on mice and other rodents.
—Don Sweeney
april 9, Sacbee.com, 9 Apr. 2026
One of the snakes later died after being rescued, and multiple dead snakes were also found in the garage, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
—Amaia Gavica, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2026
Glenn has been hunting snakes for 25 years.
—Dr. C. E. Kuschel, Outdoor Life, 9 Apr. 2026
Still, snakes may emerge during a winter warm spell to bask in the sun, said Greg Pauly, curator of herpetology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2026
Verb
Another car snakes down the road.
—Literary Hub, 14 Apr. 2026
Londoners won’t queue for just anything, but the coffee and pastries at Jolene are well worth joining the line that often snakes around the corner.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Apr. 2026
To accommodate the mass of passengers, the line snakes through baggage claim and around the terminal.
—Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 26 Mar. 2026
Miraculously, the line of people that usually snakes down Melrose yearning for a slice of chef Karla Subero Pittol’s passion lime fruit icebox pie is nonexistent today.
—Julissa James, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026
In southwest Russia, where the border with eastern Ukraine snakes down to the Sea of Azov, lies the city of Rostov-on-Don, which serves as the headquarters of Russia’s Southern Military District.
—Sophie Spiegelberger, New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2026
From the mouth of Lake of the Woods, the Warroad River snakes through the middle of the city limits, a few blocks from the headquarters of Marvin Windows and Doors, the employer as synonymous with the town as the sport of hockey.
—Dave Campbell, Chicago Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026
Make the Road Action and New York Communities for Change backed Reynoso over rival Assemblywoman Claire Valdez in the battle for the deep-blue district that snakes through parts of northern Brooklyn and western Queens.
—Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 13 Jan. 2026
The skating ribbon at Maggie Daley Park in Chicago is an artificial trail that snakes a quarter-mile around towering climbing walls, with glittering skyscrapers for a backdrop.
—Ginger Crichton, Midwest Living, 9 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snakes
Noun
-
Similarly, the warmer temperatures have compelled outdoor enthusiasts to hit the trails, increasing the odds of a run-in with the serpents.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Laocoön and His Sons, an exquisite marble sculpture of the legendary Trojan priest writhing in agony as he’s attacked by sea-serpents, was first unearthed in the early sixteenth-century, the only missing piece his right arm.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The Will County state’s attorney’s office is partnering with First Secure Bank and Will County Crime Stoppers to offer a $5,000 award for information leading to an arrest and charges in an animal abuse investigation involving six dogs found dead in unincorporated Crete Township.—
Evy Lewis,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Another photo captures the soon-to-be bride and groom crouching down on the sand with their two pet dogs.—
Ashlyn Robinette,
PEOPLE,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
It’s populated by craven, cowardly traitors.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Having been labeled traitors in Iran and following reports that some of their families had been threatened, the players then sang before their other two matches.—
Don Riddell,
CNN Money,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Boston lurks close behind at +550.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 Apr. 2026
-
The Churchill Suite peers over the Ministry of Defence (where Henry VIII’s wine cellar still lurks) and was the locus of military strategising.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
As the world creeps toward peak travel season, industry leaders are taking notice of the fuel shortages.—
Justin Klawans,
TheWeek,
13 Apr. 2026
-
The bottom line Concentration risk often creeps into your portfolio over time.—
Doug Ashburn,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Dangerous reptiles like cobras, mambas, vipers, anacondas and rattlesnakes are all banned from private ownership.—
Stephen Underwood,
Hartford Courant,
7 Apr. 2026
-
The animal enthusiast has since fished vipers from beneath houses, underneath baby cribs, the inside of dry wall, the back of a refrigerator, a fire department, a Safeway and scores of other spots.—
Kurtis Alexander,
San Francisco Chronicle,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Ortiz sneaks field recordings and samples into these songs, too—each adding texture to the universe of her songs and evoking the wider world that exists just outside the frame of her narration.—
Marissa Lorusso,
Pitchfork,
24 Mar. 2026
-
But some sunlight still sneaks through Earth’s atmosphere, bends around the planet and lands on the moon.—
Tiffany Acosta,
AZCentral.com,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Think about how often your toddler crawls near the dog bed or your kids toss pet toys around the living room.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Apr. 2026
-
In the book, Grace drags Rocky back to his part of the ship, exposing himself to the Eridian environment; in the film, Rocky crawls back while Grace is unconscious.—
Matthew Razak,
Space.com,
23 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Snakes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snakes. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
