any large nonvenomous snake of the family Pythonidae of Africa, S Asia, and Australia, such as Python reticulatus (reticulated python). They can reach a length of more than 20 feet and kill their prey by constriction
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
py•thon1 /ˈpaɪθɑn, -θən/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Reptilesa snake that kills its prey by crushing or squeezing it to death.
py•thon1
(pī′thon, -thən),USA pronunciation n.
py•thon2 (pī′thon, -thən),USA pronunciation n.
Py•thon (pī′thon, -thən),USA pronunciation n. [Class. Myth.]
- Reptilesany of several Old World boa constrictors of the subfamily Pythoninae, often growing to a length of more than 20 ft. (6 m): the Indian python, Python molurus, is endangered.
- Neo-Latin; special use of Python
- 1580–90
py•thon2 (pī′thon, -thən),USA pronunciation n.
- Mythologya spirit or demon.
- Mythologya person who is possessed by a spirit and prophesies by its aid.
- Late Greek pý̄thōn; relation to Python unclear
- 1595–1605
Py•thon (pī′thon, -thən),USA pronunciation n. [Class. Myth.]
- Mythologya large dragon who guarded the chasm at Delphi from which prophetic vapors emerged. He was finally killed by Apollo, who established his oracle on the site.
- Greek Pý̄thōn
- Latin Pȳthōn
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
a dragon, killed by Apollo at Delphi
'python' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Cleese
- Spam
- boa constrictor
- carpet snake
- pythoness
- pythonic
- reticulate python
- rock snake
- spam