boa constrictor

A large boa (Boa constrictor) of tropical America that has dark brown markings on a lighter background and kills its prey by constriction.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

boa constrictor

(Animals) a very large snake, Constrictor constrictor, of tropical America and the Caribbean, that kills its prey by constriction: family Boidae (boas)

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

bo′a constric`tor

a snake, Constrictor constrictor, of tropical America, noted for its large size and its ability to suffocate a prey by coiling around it.

[1800–10]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

boa constrictor - very large boa of tropical America and West Indies

Constrictor constrictor

boa - any of several chiefly tropical constrictors with vestigial hind limbs

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

One day he encountered an ambitious statesman, and gravely inquired after the welfare of his boa constrictor; for of that species, Roderick affirmed, this gentleman's serpent must needs be, since its appetite was enormous enough to devour the whole country and constitution.

View in context

A MALE boa constrictor is on the loose - and its owner warns he "is not friendly".

DON'T GO NEAR MY BAD BOA; Owner alert on escaped snake

A male boa constrictor is on the loose -- and its owner warns he "is not friendly".

Distraught snake lover's six foot 'unfriendly' boa constrictor is on the loose; Linda Hood has asked her Fleetwood neighbours to keep a look out for the nearly 6ft-long male boa constrictor, who disappeared from her home last Friday

Staffordshire families are being told to keep an eye out for the 6ft boa constrictor.

ALERT AS SNAKE GOES MISSSSSING

A SIX foot long boa constrictor discovered in Sutton Park was among 607 calls about exotic animals received by the RSPCA in the West Midlands last year.

Escaped boa reveals scale of exotic pet problem

Just a few months earlier in September 2018, a couple had the fright of their lives when a 7ft boa constrictor fell out of their attic.

This huge snake found in Coventry car park

A SHOCKED dad found his one-year-old daughter playing just a few yards away from a seven-foot boa constrictor in the family's garden.

HANDLEBOA CONSTRICTOR; Kids find 7ft snake hiding beneath bike BORDERS FAMILY'S GARDEN FRIGHT

A FORKLIFT truck driver and his wife found themselves 'wrestling' with a massive 10-foot Boa Constrictor after it was abandoned near a primary school.

Couple put squeeze on 'snake in a box' surprise; 10-foot boa constrictor is found abandoned near to primary school

ACOUPLE have been banned from keeping snakes for life after starving a boa constrictor to death.

Couple banned from keeping snakes after boa starved to death

A couple have been banned from keeping snakes for life afterstarving a boa constrictor to death.

Couple banned for life from keeping snakes - after starving boa constrictor to death; Richard Curtis and Claire Fradgley have been banned from keeping snakes and were fined by the courts

The boa constrictor was dumped at the Neston View property on the evening of Tuesday, February 27, shortly after 6.30pm.

RSPCA appeal after sick boa constrictor is left dumped on house doorstep