copperhead
Americannoun
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a venomous snake, Agkistrodon (Ancistrodon ) contortrix, of the eastern and southern U.S., having a light-brown to copper-red body marked with darker bands.
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an extremely venomous but sluggish snake, Denisonia superba, of Australia and Tasmania, having a reddish to black body, depending on the region.
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Copperhead,
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U.S. History. a Northern Democrat who opposed the Civil War, advocating peace and restoration of the Union even if slavery continued.
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Military. a finned, 155 mm cannon-launched U.S. Army artillery shell that homes on the target, using the reflection of a laser beam projected by a forward observer.
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noun
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a venomous reddish-brown snake, Agkistrodon contortrix, of the eastern US: family Crotalidae (pit vipers)
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a venomous reddish-brown Australian elapid snake, Denisonia superba
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informal a Yankee supporter of the South during the Civil War
Etymology
Origin of copperhead
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He could scent a diamond-back rattler or a copperhead long before I saw it, and he’d let me know that it was there.
From Literature
“That was a snake, a copperhead,” he told me as he picked up what was left of the snake with a stick.
From Literature
It is said that copperheads are very shy of humans.
From Literature
According to Penn State, warm, humid nights after a period of rain are the best time to see copperheads.
From National Geographic
It wasn't long before she had her own run-ins with the slithering creatures—including a bite she received from a copperhead while doing yardwork.
From Scientific American
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
