king snake

noun

variants or kingsnake
: any of various brightly marked nonvenomous colubrid snakes (genus Lampropeltis) chiefly of North and Central America that have glossy, smooth scales and usually a striped, blotched, or speckled pattern and that typically feed on rodents, birds, frogs, lizards, eggs, and other snakes see milk snake

Examples of king snake in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
For example, the harmless king snake has red, black and yellow stripes that strongly resemble the venomous coral snake's. Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 23 June 2011 With his wife of 15 years, professional photographer Holly Cruikshank Ireland, and their two daughters, Addy and Brooke, Ireland has adopted four pet reptiles: a Florida king snake, an African ball python, a bearded dragon and a panther chameleon. San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2022 Only a solid black mask that glittered under the midway lights like the scales on a king snake. Ayana Mathis, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2020 But where were the eight cats, eight dogs, four ring-neck doves and the albino king snake that are part of the program at Tri-C that trains students for careers as veterinary technicians going to go? Michael K. McIntyre, cleveland, 5 Apr. 2020 Initially thinking the serpent was a harmless king snake, Phillips decided to catch it and give the snake as a gift to his older brother, who has owned snakes in the past, WTOK-News reported. Madeline Farber, Fox News, 11 May 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1709, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of king snake was in 1709

Dictionary Entries Near king snake

Cite this Entry

“King snake.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/king%20snake. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

king snake

noun
: any of numerous harmless brightly marked large snakes chiefly of the southern and central U.S.

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