Snake Vocabulary

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May you bask in this hissterical list of vocabulary we've coillected about snakes!
30 words 114 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. reptile
    a cold-blooded vertebrate including snakes and lizards
    Clayton looked over at the lizard’s cage and searched for the small reptile, but couldn’t find him. Clayton Byrd Goes Underground
  2. serpent
    limbless scaly elongate reptile; some are venomous
    She saw and heard the serpent coiled within the stalks at the same time, and she yelped as she jerked her hand back. Anya and the Dragon
  3. snake
    limbless scaly elongate reptile; some are venomous
    Thinking it might be a snake—for mambas like to hide in such trees—he leapt to his feet and gazed into the branches of the tree. The Girl Who Married a Lion: and Other Tales from Africa
  4. viper
    a venomous Old World snake
    It moved like a young viper: purposeful, silent, and lethal. Messenger
  5. cobra
    a venomous snake that can expand the skin of its neck into a hood
    It was a cobra, whose venom could kill a person in minutes. The Alchemist
  6. python
    a large Old World snake found in the tropics
    That python was such a slow eater that he still hadn’t even finished by the time we left the reptile house. Absolutely Almost
  7. boa
    a chiefly tropical constrictor with vestigial hind limbs
    The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
  8. constrictor
    a large snake that kills its prey by crushing it in its coils
    The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
  9. anaconda
    a large boa of tropical South America
    So next morning we got up at dawn and paddled down the long lake watching for anacondas in the reed beds.
    – The Guardian
  10. rattlesnake
    a pit viper that makes a sound when it shakes its tail
    She pointed to a spot just beyond Clay’s thigh where a large rattlesnake slithered toward him. Copper Sun
  11. garter snake
    a small, nonvenomous snake with stripes
    On Tuesday, Missy saw a garter snake slithering through the grass behind the blacktop. I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980
  12. black mamba
    a highly venomous African snake
    Once while working in the fields, a black mamba snake slithered over his foot and prepared to strike. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
  13. pit viper
    New World vipers with hollow fangs and a heat-sensitive pit on each side of the head
    “The earthquakes disturbed thousands of snakes that had been living on the mountain. They came slithering down into Saint-Pierre. Some of them were venomous six-foot-long pit vipers. Hundreds of people died from bites.” I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980
  14. coral snake
    a venomous, legless, brightly striped reptile
    The poisonous coral snake is bright yellow and red. Death on the River of Doubt
  15. prey
    animal hunted or caught for food
    Carmen had read about a kind of snake that wrapped itself around its prey, choking it to death. I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919
  16. predator
    any animal that lives by preying on other animals
    It is a characteristic of a predator to become invisible to its prey during the quiet and sometimes lengthy stalk that precedes an explosive attack. The Hot Zone
  17. hiss
    make a sharp, elongated "s" sound
    “The Black Tortoise needs help,” hissed the snake, its voice like the wind through pine needles. When the Sea Turned to Silver
  18. fang
    hollow or grooved tooth of a venomous snake
    Meggie saw the viper's tiny poison fangs when it opened its mouth. Inkheart
  19. venom
    toxin secreted by animals
    It was a cobra, whose venom could kill a person in minutes. The Alchemist
  20. poisonous
    having the qualities of a substance that causes death
    We nomads live in an area with dangerous animals and poisonous snakes. Facing the Lion
  21. carnivorous
    relating to flesh-eating animals
    Snakes are elongated, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears.
    – PBS
  22. slither
    pass or move unobtrusively or smoothly
    He turned into a snake and slithered over the edge. The Mark of Athena
  23. shed
    cast off hair, skin, feathers, etc.
    A regularly recurrent event during the activity period of all snakes is the shedding, or molting, of the skin.
    – Britannica
  24. molt
    cast off hair, skin, horn, or feathers
    Whales aren’t the only animals that molt: Insects and reptiles shed their outer covering of skin in order to grow.
    – National Geographic
  25. scale
    a rigid plate forming part of the body covering of animals
    Without legs, snakes must get creative to slither up trees, and new research suggests they use the scales covering their bodies to make such climbs.
    – NBC News
  26. ambush
    wait in hiding to attack
    The boa's hunting technique is generally to ambush prey, such as rats, birds, monkeys, or wild pigs.
    – National Geographic Kids
  27. camouflage
    an outward semblance misrepresenting the nature of something
    Copperheads have a distinctive hourglass pattern on their scales. which, combined with their brown coloration, makes for extremely effective camouflage.
    – The Sun
  28. coil
    wind or move in a spiral course
    A snake began to draw itself, coiling upward. Between Shades of Gray
  29. bask
    expose oneself to warmth and light, as for relaxation
    The snake wasn’t lying in the sand, basking in the sun, like usual. Orphan Island
  30. burrow
    move through by or as by digging
    Instantly three mice leaped out and burrowed frantically under the hay again. The Red Pony
Created on Thu Oct 19 13:38:21 EDT 2023 (updated Tue Jan 02 11:11:40 EST 2024)

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