mamba

American

[mahm-bah] / ˈmɑm bɑ /

noun

any of several long, slender, arboreal snakes of the genus Dendroaspis, of central and southern Africa, the bite of which is often fatal.

mamba British

/ ˈmæmbə /

noun

any aggressive partly arboreal tropical African venomous elapid snake of the genus Dendroaspis, esp D. angusticeps ( green and black mambas )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of mamba

1860–65; < Nguni; compare Zulu imamba, izimamba

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.

A green mamba had slid down from a branch of the tree and was hovering over an empty nest in the shallows.

From Literature

The research focused on elapids – one of the two families of venomous snakes – such as coral snakes, mambas, cobras, taipans and kraits.

From BBC

Having the mamba breaking through the wall helps to create a feeling of intensity and power that I really wanted to capture in the mural.

From Los Angeles Times

There are more than 400 species comprising a very diverse group of snakes such as mambas, cobras, kraits, taipans, tiger snakes, death adders, sea snakes and coral snakes.

From Science Daily

In the new work, the researchers isolated and compared venom proteins from a variety of elapids -- a major group of venomous snakes including mambas, cobras and kraits.

From Science Daily

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023