rhizoverbBeta
DictionarycobraHooded snake
noun

cobra

KOH-bruh/ˈkəʊbrə/

A venomous snake that can spread its neck into a hood.

The cobra raises its front body and spreads its broad hood.

A single cobra with its front body raised and its broad neck hood fully spread above a loosely coiled body, making its distinctive anatomy immediately recognizable.
Etymology
cobraLatinsnake

Latin colubra meant a snake generally. The hooded species gets its English name from a shortened Portuguese phrase meaning “serpent of the hood,” referring to the expandable loose skin around its neck.

In context

Animals World 90s0:34
With a broad, iconic hood, the Mozambique spitting cobra signals its lethal readiness to strike or blind.
Survival of the Fittest | Mongoose vs. Spitting Cobra Deadly Encounters

More examples

  • We watched the cobra from behind protective glass.
  • Several cobras occupied separate enclosures.
  • The cobra lowered itself and moved away.

Forms

cobra · cobras