slither

slith·er

S s

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [slith -er]
- /ˈslɪð ər/
- /ˈslɪð.ər/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [slith -er]
- /ˈslɪð ər/

Definitions of slither word

verb without object slither to slide down or along a surface, especially unsteadily, from side to side, or with some friction or noise: The box slithered down the chute. 1
verb without object slither to go or walk with a sliding motion: The snake slithered across the path. 1
verb with object slither to cause to slither or slide. 1
noun slither a slithering movement; slide. 1
intransitive verb slither snake: slide along 1
intransitive verb slither slide like a snake 1

See all 16 definitions of slither

Information block about the term

Origin of slither

First appearance:

before 1150

One of the 7% oldest English words

1150-1200; Middle English slitheren, variant of sliddren, Old English slid(e)rian, frequentative of slīdan to slide; see -er6

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Slither

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Slither

slither popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 78% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

slither usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for slither

verb slither

corkscrew — A corkscrew is a device for pulling corks out of bottles.
crawl — When you crawl, you move forward on your hands and knees.
creep — When people or animals creep somewhere, they move quietly and slowly.
crook — A crook is a dishonest person or a criminal.
glide — to move smoothly and continuously along, as if without effort or resistance, as a flying bird, a boat, or a skater.

noun slither

finger — any of the terminal members of the hand, especially one other than the thumb.

All 18 Synonyms of slither