slither

verb

slith·​er ˈsli-t͟hər 

slithered; slithering; slithers

intransitive verb

1

: to slide on or as if on a loose gravelly surface

2

: to slip or slide like a snake

transitive verb

: to cause to slide

Synonyms

• belly
• crawl
• creep
• grovel
• slide
• snake
• worm
• wriggle

Examples of slither in a Sentence

The snake slithered through the garden.

To get under the porch, I lay on my stomach and slithered like a snake.

She slithered quietly into the room.

He slithered his hand around her waist.

Recent Examples on the Web

Every single day, Ulmer and Bullis would flag dangerous pests that needed to be quarantined — and were specifically sent to their national lab because regional identifiers weren’t sure if the strange bug that fell out of a flower or slithered over a wooden pallet posed a true threat. —Suzy Khimm, NBC News, 7 Mar. 2025

While Moreno often slides neatly into the slithering slime of his character’s underbelly, his tart turn as the pithy mayor is loaded with side-eyed sketch. —David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 13 Feb. 2025

This striking timepiece features a three-dimensional golden snake that slithers around the chronograph's counters, crafted with meticulous detail using advanced laser technology. —Bhanu Chopra, Forbes, 17 Jan. 2025

Here’s what went down during Season 3’s snarky and slithering third episode. —Dan Heching, CNN, 3 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English slideren, from Old English slidrian, frequentative of slīdan to slide

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for slither

• cither
• dither
• hither
• ither
• thither
• whither
• zither

Kids Definition

slither

verb

slith·​er ˈslit͟h-ər 

1

: to slide or cause to slide on or as if on a loose gravelly surface

2

: to slip or slide like a snake