snake
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Any of the suborder Serpentes of legless reptile with long, thin bodies and fork-shaped tongues.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
snaykIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsneɪk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Any of the suborder Serpentes of legless reptile with long, thin bodies and fork-shaped tongues.
A tool for unclogging plumbing.
figurative
A person who acts deceitfully for personal or social gain; a treacherous person.
A tool to aid cable pulling.
A tributary of the Columbia River that rises in Wyoming and flows westward; discovered in 1805 by the Lewis and Clark Expedition
A river in the northwestern United States, tributary to the Columbia.
verb
Move along a winding path
“The army snaked through the jungle.”
intransitive
To follow or move in a winding route.
transitiveAustraliaslang
To steal slyly.
usinformal
To drag or draw, as a snake from a hole; often with out.
transitive
To clean using a plumbing snake.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Any of the suborder Serpentes of legless reptile with long, thin bodies and fork-shaped tongues.
Used this way, snake is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use snake
- “The army snaked through the jungle.”verb
- “The river snakes through the valley.”verb
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Expressions used when when two dice are thrown and both come up showing one spot.
Slender-bodied non-stinging insect having iridescent wings that are outspread at rest.
Rail fence consisting of a zigzag of interlocking rails.
Tropical fern widespread in Old World.
Tropical fishes with large mouths in lizard-like heads.
A god of voodoo cults of African origin worshipped especially in West Indies.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Large semiaquatic snake of Australia.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: any of the suborder Serpentes of legless reptile with long
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “snake” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.