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Glite Dictionary
diamondback rattlesnake

diamondback rattlesnake

1 7.2
A large venomous snake that has a rattle and diamond-shaped marks on its back
  • noun
  • /ˈdaɪəˌmɛndˌbæk ˈrætəlˌsneɪk/
  • US
translation icon : serpiente de cascabel de diamante
  • The diamondback rattlesnake is easily recognized by its distinctive diamond-shaped patterns.
  • eastern diamondback rattlesnake
  • western diamondback rattlesnake

Examples

  • Justice walks past a big diamondback rattlesnake.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • This... this western diamondback rattlesnake is very, very venomous.

    Jackass Forever (2022)

  • He's got a western diamondback rattlesnake.

    Jackass Forever (2022)

  • And in deed and truth, two diamondback rattlesnakes came off a waist-high ledge at Malcom.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Frames from a high-speed digital video sequence of a western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) striking a mouse.

    Academic text (2002)

  • While hiking in the desert, I saw a large diamondback rattlesnake coiled on a rock.

  • Caution is advised when approaching a diamondback rattlesnake due to its venomous bite.

Synonyms

rattlesnake
vsdiamondback rattlesnake
  • US
42 4.1

A dangerous snake from America with a rattle on its tail that warns others

is the specific diamond-marked kind rather than any rattling snake
rattler
vsdiamondback rattlesnake
  • US
14 8.2

A snake that can bite with poison and has a tail that makes a rattling sound when shaken

is the specific formal two-word name focusing on diamond markings
diamondback
vsdiamondback rattlesnake
  • US
4 8.6

A large rattlesnake with diamond-shaped marks on its back

is the fuller two-word common name rather than the shorter label
Crotalus adamanteus
vsdiamondback rattlesnake
  • Specialized
9.9

A large venomous rattlesnake from the southeastern United States with diamond-shaped markings, also called the eastern diamondback

is broader, applying to several diamond-marked species across regions
Western diamondback rattlesnake
vsdiamondback rattlesnake
  • US
8.9

A large snake that has venom, a rattle, and diamond markings that lives in the US Southwest and Mexico

is broader and applies to other regions and similar species
Crotalus atrox
vsdiamondback rattlesnake
  • Specialized
9.9

A large venomous rattlesnake that lives in the southwestern United States and Mexico

is the broader common label, not limited to that single species
Western diamondback
vsdiamondback rattlesnake
  • US
7.8

A large venomous rattlesnake with diamond-shaped marks on its back from the United States and Mexico

is the wider term covering various diamond-marked types across North America

Surface Forms

diamondback rattlesnake singular
diamondback rattlesnakes plural

Morphology

diamondback + rattlesnake

This is a straightforward compositional noun: 'diamondback' specifies a rattlesnake with diamond-shaped markings and 'rattlesnake' names the species, so the combined meaning is a rattlesnake with diamond-shaped markings on its back. The modifier+noun pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Diamondback rattlesnake comes from a simple picture: it has diamond-shaped marks along its back and a noisy rattle on its tail. That's why the name fits this large 'venomous' snake from North America.