noun
anaconda
an-uh-KAHN-duh/ˌænəˈkɑːndə/
A very large tropical South American snake that kills prey by squeezing it.
The anaconda tightens its thick coils around a capybara by the riverbank.
Etymology
The name first designated a Ceylonese python in English and was then mistakenly applied to a large South American boa. Its linguistic origin remains uncertain.
In context
the Anaconda employs its long muscular body to coil around its jungle prey and patiently suffocate them
More examples
- The field guide describes the anaconda as a large constrictor.
- Researchers track anacondas in the tropical wetland.
- The exhibit contrasts an anaconda with a smaller local snake.
Forms
anaconda · anacondas
Similar words
- constrictor
- Names the broader group that kills prey by squeezing.
- python
- A different group of large constricting snakes outside the Americas.