snail

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Related to snail: Land snail

snail

(snāl)

1. Any of numerous aquatic or terrestrial gastropod mollusks that typically have a spirally coiled shell, retractile foot, and distinct head.

2. A slow-moving, lazy, or sluggish person.

[Middle English, from Old English snægl.]

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.

snail

(sneɪl)

1. (Animals) any of numerous terrestrial or freshwater gastropod molluscs with a spirally coiled shell, esp any of the family Helicidae, such as Helix aspersa (garden snail)

2. (Animals) any other gastropod with a spirally coiled shell, such as a whelk

3. a slow-moving or lazy person or animal

[Old English snægl; related to Old Norse snigill, Old High German snecko]

ˈsnail-ˌlike adj

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

snail

(sneɪl)

n.

1. any slow-moving gastropod mollusk, having a spirally coiled shell and a ventral muscular foot.

2. a slow or lazy person.

[before 900; Middle English; Old English snegel, c. Old Saxon, Old High German snegel, Old Norse snigill]

Snail

Military, a D-shaped formation, 1579.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	snail - freshwater or marine or terrestrial gastropod mollusk usually having an external enclosing spiral shell gastropod, univalve - a class of mollusks typically having a one-piece coiled shell and flattened muscular foot with a head bearing stalked eyes scorpion shell - any of numerous tropical marine snails that as adults have the outer lip of the aperture produced into a series of long curved spines edible snail, Helix pomatia - one of the chief edible snails garden snail - any of several inedible snails of the genus Helix; often destructive pests
	2.	snail - edible terrestrial snail usually served in the shell with a sauce of melted butter and garlic escargot edible snail, Helix pomatia - one of the chief edible snails meat - the flesh of animals (including fishes and birds and snails) used as food
Verb	1.	snail - gather snails; "We went snailing in the summer" whelk - gather whelk gather, pull together, collect, garner - assemble or get together; "gather some stones"; "pull your thoughts together"

snail

Snails, slugs and other gastropods

abalone or ear shell, conch, cowrie or cowry, limpet, murex, nudibranch or sea slug, ormer or sea-ear, periwinkle or winkle, ramshorn snail, Roman snail, sea hare, slug, snail, top-shell, triton, wentletrap, whelk

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

Spanish / Español

Select a language:

caracol

snail

[sneɪl]

A. N → caracol m
at a snail's pace → a paso de tortuga

B. CPD snail mail N (hum) → correo m normal
snail shell N → concha f de caracol

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

snail

(sneil) noun

a kind of soft-bodied small crawling animal with a coiled shell. Snails leave a silvery trail as they move along.caracol

at a snail's pace

very slowly. The old man walked along at a snail's pace.a paso de tortuga

snail

→ caracol

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

snail

n caracol m

References in classic literature ?

So we crept along at a snail's pace, with much stumbling and falling--the guards keeping up a singsong chant ahead of us, interspersed with certain high notes which I found always indicated rough places and turns.

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The wind was favourable, and I had thought to tow them back under sail, but the wind baffled, then died away, and our progress with the oars was a snail's pace.

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Like snails, we were fixed to our shells, and I declare it is easy to lead a snail's life.

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This caused additional delay; after which they continued to crawl forward at a snail's pace.

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We were flying at a snail's pace but a few feet above the ground--literally feeling our way along through the darkness, for both moons had set, and the night was black with the clouds that are to be found only at Mars's two extremities.

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The travellers followed, with gladdened hearts, but at a snail's pace; for their poor horses could scarcely drag one leg after the other.

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Now that he was positive that the woman ahead of him was indeed Jane, and that she had again fallen into the hands of the Russian, it seemed that with all the incredible speed of his fleet and agile muscles he moved at but a snail's pace.

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The revolver I had dropped, so that while we were both strong swimmers it seemed to me that we moved at a snail's pace through the water.

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I did my Biology at University College,--getting out the ovary of the earthworm and the radula of the snail, and all that.

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I likewise broke my right shin against the shell of a snail, which I happened to stumble over, as I was walking alone and thinking on poor England.

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Now they lived a very lonely and happy life; and as they had no children themselves, they had adopted a little common snail, which they brought up as their own; but the little one would not grow, for he was of a common family; but the old ones, especially Dame Mother Snail, thought they could observe how he increased in size, and she begged father, if he could not see it, that he would at least feel the little snail's shell; and then he felt it, and found the good dame was right.

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Finally, after a full half hour, a top-floor window (the house had four stories) opened and Pinocchio saw a large Snail look out.