Illustration of python
python
noun
py·thon ˈpī-ˌthän 
-thən
: any of various large constricting snakes
especially : any of the large oviparous snakes (subfamily Pythoninae of the family Boidae) of Africa, Asia, Australia, and adjacent islands that include some of the largest existing snakes
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Conservancy biologists in Florida caught an almost 18-foot-long, 215-pound Burmese python. 
Amy Bennett Williams, USA TODAY, 23 June 2022 State officials devised the challenge to help combat the spread of the invasive Burmese python in the Everglades and other Florida ecosystems. Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2022 There are additional prizes for the longest python in each category. Fox News, 5 Aug. 2022 The female python was also pregnant and carrying 122 eggs. Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 27 June 2022 The event was captured by a motion sensitive camera that a team led by Andrea Currylow, an ecologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, deployed in June 2021 near the nest of a large female Burmese python. New York Times, 28 Mar. 2022 When the bobcat returned later that same day, the python was back with her eggs and the bobcat can be seen steering clear. Stephen Smith, CBS News, 16 Mar. 2022 Jeff Fobb holds a Burmese python at the start of the Florida Python Challenge on Jan. 12, 2013, in Davie, Fla. Mary Pflum, NBC News, 4 Aug. 2022 And last year, a Florida woman and her boyfriend were released from prison 12 years after their malnourished pet Burmese python wrapped its 8-foot body around the woman’s 2-year-old daughter, killing her, according to ClickOrlando. Lindsey Bever, Washington Post, 21 July 2022 See More
Amy Bennett Williams, USA TODAY, 23 June 2022 State officials devised the challenge to help combat the spread of the invasive Burmese python in the Everglades and other Florida ecosystems. Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2022 There are additional prizes for the longest python in each category. Fox News, 5 Aug. 2022 The female python was also pregnant and carrying 122 eggs. Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 27 June 2022 The event was captured by a motion sensitive camera that a team led by Andrea Currylow, an ecologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, deployed in June 2021 near the nest of a large female Burmese python. New York Times, 28 Mar. 2022 When the bobcat returned later that same day, the python was back with her eggs and the bobcat can be seen steering clear. Stephen Smith, CBS News, 16 Mar. 2022 Jeff Fobb holds a Burmese python at the start of the Florida Python Challenge on Jan. 12, 2013, in Davie, Fla. Mary Pflum, NBC News, 4 Aug. 2022 And last year, a Florida woman and her boyfriend were released from prison 12 years after their malnourished pet Burmese python wrapped its 8-foot body around the woman’s 2-year-old daughter, killing her, according to ClickOrlando. Lindsey Bever, Washington Post, 21 July 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Latin, monstrous serpent killed by Apollo, from Greek Pythōn, from Pythō Delphi
First Known Use
circa 1825, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
python
noun
py·thon ˈpī-ˌthän
: a large nonpoisonous snake of Africa, Asia, and Australia that squeezes and suffocates its prey
python
noun
as in anaconda
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- anaconda
- cobra
- mamba
- rattlesnake
- boa
- asp
- moccasin
- taipan
- copperhead
- coral snake
- constrictor
- garter snake
- sea snake
- milk snake
- krait
- water snake
- green snake
- chicken snake
- bushmaster
- sea serpent
- worm snake
- gopher snake
- adder
- bull snake
- diamondback rattlesnake
- pine snake
- black racer
- rat snake
- water moccasin
- hognose snake
- cottonmouth moccasin
- racer
- indigo snake
- viper
- blacksnake
- king snake
- pit viper
- blue racer
- king cobra
- puff adder
- fer-de-lance
- horned viper
- snake
- sidewinder
- serpent