Definition

1. Noun:

   • A limbless reptile: A long, legless, scaly reptile; some species are venomous.
   • A treacherous person: A deceitful, untrustworthy, or malicious individual.
   • Something resembling a snake: Any long, thin, flexible object that coils or twists like a snake.
   • A geographical feature: A long, winding river or a faint constellation in the shape of a snake.

2. Verb:

   • To move like a snake: To move smoothly, quietly, and with twisting, sinuous motions.
   • To follow a winding path: To extend or proceed in a long, twisting, coiled, or meandering line.

Usage and Examples

• As a Noun (Reptile):
  • The garden snake slithered away into the bushes.
  • Some snakes, like cobras, are highly venomous.
• As a Noun (Person):
  • Don't trust him; he's a snake in the grass.
  • She felt betrayed when she discovered her friend was a snake.
• As a Verb (Movement):
  • The line of people snaked slowly around the block.
  • The river snakes through the canyon, creating breathtaking views.

Advanced Usage and Nuances

• "A snake in the grass": A hidden or treacherous enemy; a person who pretends to be a friend but is secretly harmful.
  • He seemed friendly, but he was a real snake in the grass, spreading rumors about everyone.
• "To see snakes": To hallucinate, often due to illness or excessive alcohol consumption (delirium tremens).
  • After days without sleep, he started to see snakes crawling on the walls.

Variants and Related Words

• Snaky (adjective): Resembling a snake; winding, twisting, or treacherous.
  • The road followed a snaky path up the mountain.
  • He gave her a snaky smile.
• Snakelike (adjective): Having the form or qualities of a snake.
  • The creature moved with a snakelike grace.

Synonyms

• Noun (Reptile): Serpent, viper (specifically venomous types).
• Noun (Person): Traitor, backstabber, betrayer.
• Verb (Movement): Wind, meander, twist, slither, weave.

Phrasal Verbs and Common Verb Phrases

• Snake its way: To move in a winding, sinuous manner.
  • The hiking trail snaked its way through the dense forest.
• Snake out (of) : To pull something out quickly or stealthily.
  • He snaked a chocolate bar out of his pocket when no one was looking.

Related Idioms

• "To warm (or cherish) a snake in one's bosom": To be kind to someone who later betrays you; to nurture a traitor.
  • By hiring his rival's assistant, he was warming a snake in his bosom.
• "To raise (or wake) snakes" : To cause trouble or a commotion.
  • His inflammatory speech was sure to raise snakes at the town meeting.

Noun

1. something long, thin, and flexible that resembles a snake
2. a long faint constellation in the southern hemisphere near the equator stretching between Virgo and Cancer
3. a tributary of the Columbia River that rises in Wyoming and flows westward; discovered in 1805 by the Lewis and Clark Expedition
4. a deceitful or treacherous person
5. limbless scaly elongate reptile; some are venomous

Verb

1. move along a winding path
   • The army snaked through the jungle
2. form a snake-like pattern
   • The river snakes through the valley
3. move smoothly and sinuously, like a snake