# snake

Pronunciation: say "SNAYK" /sneɪk/

## Noun

1. Any of various legless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes, having a long, thin body and a forked tongue.
   - Simple: A long, thin reptile that has no legs and moves by sliding along the ground.
   - _We froze when a long black snake slid out from under the woodpile and vanished into the tall grass._
   - _Many snakes swallow their prey whole rather than chewing it._
3. A treacherous, deceitful person who betrays others, for example by informing on them.
   - Simple: A person who cannot be trusted and turns against friends, such as by telling their secrets.
   - _She called her former partner a snake after he stole the company's clients._
   - _The committee was full of snakes plotting against one another._
4. A long, flexible tool pushed through a pipe, drain, or conduit to clear a blockage or pull wires through.
   - Simple: A long tool that bends, pushed into pipes to clear them or to pull wires through walls.
   - _He fed the snake into the pipe until it reached the blockage._
   - _A good drain snake can save you an expensive plumber's visit._
6. A slang term for the penis, from the longer expression "trouser snake." *(slang)*
   - Simple: A slang word for the penis.
   - _The locker-room banter inevitably circled back to someone's snake._
   - _He bragged about his snake until the whole table groaned._
7. A flavored jelly sweet molded into the shape of a snake. *(Australia, UK)*
   - Simple: A soft, chewy candy made in the shape of a snake.
   - _She bit the head off a strawberry snake before sharing the rest._
   - _The corner shop sold fizzy snakes by the quarter from a big jar._
11. Short for black snake: a small firework pellet that, when lit, pushes out a long, coiling column of ash. — Ellipsis of black snake (“firework that creates a trail of ash”).
   - Simple: Short for black snake: a small firework that grows a long, curling trail of ash as it burns.
   - _He touched a match to the snake and it swelled into a coiling ribbon of ash._
   - _The kids lit a snake on the driveway and watched a curl of black ash push its way out of the little pellet._

## Verb

2. To follow or move along a winding, twisting route.
   - Simple: To move or bend along a long, twisting path.
   - _Hiking trails snake up the steep hillside in long switchbacks._
   - _The procession snaked through the narrow streets of the old town._
5. To clear a pipe or drain by running a flexible plumbing tool through it.
   - Simple: To clear a blocked pipe by pushing a long, bendy tool through it.
   - _He snaked the toilet to remove the stubborn clog._
   - _We need to snake the main sewer line this weekend._
8. To betray someone by informing on them, especially to authorities, frequently used with 'out.' *(dialectal, Multicultural London English)*
   - Simple: To secretly tell on someone so they get into trouble.
   - _Nobody on the estate would speak to him once they found out he'd snaked his mates out to the police._
   - _If you snake out your own crew, don't expect anyone in the neighborhood to trust you again._
9. To drag or haul something out with effort, as one would pull a snake from its hole; often used with "out." *(colloquial, US)*
   - Simple: To pull or drag something heavy along the ground, often out of a tight spot.
   - _Workers snake the logs out of the woods using horses and chains._
   - _It took two horses and most of the afternoon to snake the fallen oak out of the creek bed._
10. To steal something slyly, often quickly and without being noticed. *(slang, Australia)*
   - Simple: To take something quietly and sneakily without the owner noticing.
   - _She snaked his idea and presented it as her own in the meeting._
   - _Quit trying to snake my seat the moment I stand up._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To wind a smaller rope or cord spirally around a larger one, with the small line lying in the grooves between the strands; to worm.
- (noun) In computer graphics, a series of connected Bézier curves forming one continuous path.
- (noun) Short for snake in the tunnel: the 1970s European arrangement that kept member currencies within narrow limits of one another.
- (noun) The seventh card in the Lenormand cartomancy deck.

## Origin

Proto-West Germanic *snakō ("slider, snake") was built on *snakan ("to creep, slide") and became Old English snaca ("snake, serpent, reptile"), then Middle English snake. German Schnake, Swedish snok, and other Germanic words are related.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/snake (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).