snail

1 of 2

noun

ˈsnāl 

1

: a gastropod mollusk especially when having an external enclosing spiral shell

2

: a slow-moving or sluggish person or thing

snaillike

ˈsnāl-ˌlīk 

adjective

snail

2 of 2

verb

snailed; snailing; snails

intransitive verb

: to move, act, or go slowly or lazily

Synonyms

Noun

• crawler
• dallier
• dawdler
• dragger
• laggard
• lagger
• lingerer
• loiterer
• plodder
• slowpoke
• straggler

Verb

• crawl
• creak (along)
• creep
• drag
• inch
• limp
• nose
• ooze
• plod
• poke
• slouch

Examples of snail in a Sentence

Noun

go and tell the snails in the back to hurry up

Verb

the highway construction work created a bottleneck that had cars snailing for the next five miles

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In addition to the proliferation of devices, Diamond noted new twists on K-beauty such as vegan alternatives to popular Korean ingredients like snail mucin. —Faye Brookman, WWD, 4 Feb. 2025

Red-eared slider turtles may chow down on earthworms, snails, slugs and leafy greens, according to VCA Animal Hospitals. —Olivia Munson, USA TODAY, 16 Jan. 2025

Verb

The two perpetual calendar counters are also snailed, except for the central section of the one located at 9 o'clock. —Anthony Demarco, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025

The hour track is smooth, the minute track is snailed and the central area of the dial is finished with a vertical brush. —Anthony Demarco, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English snægl; akin to Old High German snecko snail, snahhan to creep

First Known Use

Noun

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

Verb

1582, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing snail

• at a snail's pace
• moon snail
• snail darter
• snail fever
• snail mail
• snail-paced
• snail's pace

Kids Definition

snail

noun

ˈsnā(ə)l

1

: any of numerous small mollusks that are gastropods usually with a spiral shell and that include some living on land and others living in water

2

: a slow-moving person or thing

Medical Definition

snail

noun

ˈsnā(ə)l 

: any of various gastropod mollusks and especially those having an external enclosing spiral shell including some which are important in medicine as intermediate hosts of trematodes