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snake

snake

103 5.4
A long thin tool used to clear clogs in pipes
  • noun
  • /sneɪk/
translation icon : desatascador
  • Just a little, very delicate kind of snake chain, little double chain.
  • rubber snake

This is called the Minerva Snake Ear Wrap cuff.

Examples

  • Take a look at my snakes if you have time.

  • The crowd resembles a pit of snakes, wriggling on top of each other.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • And this is like, again, this is a snake that's so thin and so small.

  • Like I saw other people flying into the space and there's these snake like looking objects.

  • Almost tenderly, the snake wrapped its length about her as she turned and disappeared into the forest.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Massive roots lifted out like snakes, twisting and writhing in response to the rumblings.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • My mother peeled apples in one snake-like piece, and we ate thoughtfully, half-reclining on the carpet.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The garden hose lay coiled like a snake ready to be unfurled for watering the plants.

  • As the dancers moved, their bodies twisted and curled like a graceful snake in motion.

  • The electrical wire was flexible, allowing it to bend and twist easily, much like a snake.

Synonyms

auger
vssnake
  • Specialized
1 8.2

A long flexible metal tool for clearing blockages in curved pipes

refers to the general long thin flexible shape rather than a specific plumbing tool
plumber's snake
vssnake
  • US
1 5.2

A long flexible metal tool for clearing clogs in pipes

describes a general long thin flexible shape used for tools or cables

Idioms

snake in the grass
  • Offensive
5 8.1

A person who pretends to be friendly but secretly harms or tricks you

To have very bad luck at an important time

mad as a cut snake
  • Australian
9.9

Feeling extremely angry and acting wildly

son of a snake
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who lies or cheats and cannot be trusted

Compounds

snake oil salesman
  • Offensive
7 8.0

A person who tricks people by offering fake medicines or useless products

snake oil
  • Informal
7 8.0

A thing presented as helpful that does not work and tricks people

A person who uses music or movement to make snakes move for people

4 3.8

A common North and Central American snake that is not venomous and has long stripes

3 4.3

A poisonous fluid that some snakes inject when they bite to stop or kill other animals

snake pit
  • Informal
3 7.3

An unpleasant, chaotic place where people act badly toward each other

2 7.2

A small venomous snake with red, yellow, and black bands that has a deadly bite

sea snake
  • Specialized
2 6.4

A long sea animal with no legs, a flat tail, and a poisonous bite that eats fish

snake eyes
  • Informal
2 7.5

A roll of two ones with two dice that people see as very unlucky

2 3.5

A snake that usually is not dangerous and lives near water

1 3.0

A large river in the northwest United States that flows from Wyoming to the Columbia River

1 6.0

A gentle reddish-orange snake from the southeastern United States often found on farms and kept as a pet

1 5.3

A snake that is not poisonous and eats rats and mice

1 9.5

A long thin snake with a tail like a braided whip that moves quickly

A harmless North American snake that has stripes and often lives in gardens

elapid snake
  • Specialized
1 8.5

A snake like a cobra or mamba that has venom and uses fixed fangs to put it into other animals

1 5.8

A North American snake that does not have venom and often eats other snakes and small animals

1 7.0

A large North American snake that is not venomous and lives in burrows eating rodents

1 5.2

A long flexible metal tool for clearing clogs in pipes

A small snake that looks like a worm and lives underground

A large shiny black snake from North America that is not venomous and eats rats and mice

A small ground snake with a black head that hides under rocks or leaves

6.9

A large North American snake that eats rodents, lives in burrows, and is not venomous

carpet snake
  • Australian
8.0

A large Australian snake with patterned skin that often lives near farms

7.4

A large harmless North American snake that eats birds and eggs

A snake that is not venomous and lives near fresh water in the western United States

colubrid snake
  • Specialized
8.5

A mostly non-venomous snake that lives on land, in trees, or near water

9.9

A long thin water animal like an eel with tiny legs that lives in muddy pools in the southern US

A venomous snake with a copper-colored head and dark cross bands

eastern coral snake
  • Specialized
8.4

A venomous banded snake from the southeastern United States and parts of Central America

A small reddish-grey snake in eastern North America that burrows under leaves and soil

A large nonvenomous snake with shiny blue-black skin that lives in the southeastern United States

African coral snake
  • South African
8.9

A small snake that lives in trees in southern Africa with black and orange bands

8.9

A venomous snake with bright red, yellow, and black bands that lives in Asia

A small snake with dark and light rings that moves through sand in the southwestern United States

A harmless snake with dark bands that lives near rivers and lakes in the western United States

7.7

A small venomous Australian snake with bright red, black and white rings that is usually harmless to people

A pale blotched desert snake with a short blunt nose from southwestern North America that is not dangerous to people

lined snake
  • Specialized
9.9

A small shy snake with stripes that lives in grass and parks in the central United States

9.9

A mildly venomous snake with a V-shaped mark on its head that lives in rocky areas

5.1

A harmless North American snake with red, black, and white bands that looks like a coral snake

9.7

A snake active at night that burrows in sandy soil and has shiny tan scales

glass snake
  • Specialized
9.4

A legless lizard with a long tail that breaks off and regrows to escape predators

3.7

A small green North American snake that eats insects

green snake
  • South African
3.4

A green African snake that is not poisonous

4.2

A harmless European snake with a yellow collar

2.7

A small harmless green or striped snake often found in grass

8.5

A small shy snake with bright rings that hides under rocks in dry western North America

A brightly colored snake with poison in its bite that lives in Central and South America

7.9

A harmless North American snake with an upturned nose that spreads its head and plays dead when scared

hoop snake
  • Archaic
9.9

A snake from old stories that holds its tail in its mouth and rolls like a hoop

house snake
  • South African
7.5

A snake that is not poisonous, often tan or brown, that lives near houses and eats mice

8.0

A large snake from South and Southeast Asia that is not poisonous and often enters buildings to catch mice

7.4

A large dark blue nonvenomous snake in southern North America and Mexico that often enters burrows

9.9

A legless lizard like a snake that sheds and regrows its tail

8.2

A small snake that is active at night in the western United States and Mexico

A brightly colored venomous snake from the Americas with red, black and yellow or white bands

5.5

A large harmless reddish snake from the southern United States that lives on farms and in woods

A small harmless woodland snake with a red belly

6.5

A thin North American snake with a yellow stripe often near water

6.9

A harmless snake with a bright ring around its neck found in North America or Europe

5.5

A harmless snake found in England with a bright yellow or white collar

A small snake that is not poisonous with a yellow or orange ring around its neck

A small harmless snake with a yellow or orange ring around its neck

rock snake
  • South African
7.6

A very large snake from Africa that can grow over six meters long

rough green snake
  • Specialized
8.4

A thin bright green snake with rough scales that is harmless and lives in the southern and eastern United States

9.7

A venomous snake from Asia, Africa, or Australia with bright bands

7.4

A large snake that does not have venom and lives in pine woods in the eastern United States

8.6

A small snake that lives in sandy places and hides under loose sand

tiger snake
  • Australian
8.3

A venomous snake with brown and yellow bands found in Australia and Tasmania

9.9

A small reddish snake that looks like a worm and lives in eastern United States woodlands

A harmless pale snake with smooth, rubbery skin that lives in grass and woods

9.9

A long, thin insect with bright, shiny wings that eats mosquitoes

How Flexible

snake
103 5.4
hose
183 1.0
rope
614 1.0
cable
  • Specialized
282 2.4
rod
148 2.1

Surface Forms

snake singular
snakes plural

Etymology

Snake for a long, flexible tool is named after the animal because it is long and can bend into pipes or cables. That's why plumbers use a 'snake' to reach and clear blockages.