sidewinder
noun
side·wind·er
| \ ˈsīd-ˌwīn-dər
\
\
Definition of sidewinder
1
: a heavy swinging blow from the side
2
: a small pale-colored desert rattlesnake (Crotalus cerastes) of the southwestern U.S. that moves by thrusting its body diagonally forward in a series of flat S-shaped curves
Illustration of sidewinder
sidewinder 2
Examples of sidewinder in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The researchers also learned that the speed of a sidewinder’s attack did not correlate with success. — Jason Bittel, National Geographic, "‘Ninja' rat kicks snake in midair in amazing slo-mo video," 5 Apr. 2019 The McDonnell-Douglas aircraft are single-seat tactical fighters, with armament that includes sidewinder missiles and a six-barrel cannon. — Seattle Times Staff, The Seattle Times, "NORAD: Fighter jets were trying to direct stolen plane over Pacific Ocean when it crashed," 11 Aug. 2018 According to the San Diego Natural History Museum, the four species of rattlers found here include the Western, Speckled and Red Diamond, all found in coastal and mountain regions, and the sidewinder which is limited to our deserts. — Ernie Cowan, sandiegouniontribune.com, "It's rattlesnake season in the county," 9 June 2018 Descriptions of the trend pioneered by the siblings were sibilant: soccer-style, sidewinder, sidesaddle. — Michael Farber, SI.com, "Mark Moseley, Last of the Straight-On Kickers," 2 July 2018 Take the pomme frites ($14), which are comprised of sidewinders, a cut of potato that is best described as what happens when a curly and wedge fry meet. — Anna Caplan, star-telegram, "Fries? Check. Wonderfully messy sandwiches? Check. Roll of paper towels? Absolutely," 6 June 2018 The team was now afforded a two-run lead, one the sidewinder promptly surrendered. — Chandler Rome, Houston Chronicle, "Angels hand Astros second straight loss," 25 Apr. 2018 Last year, the Bulldogs' sidewinder finished the campaign with 12 saves and 44 strikeouts in 48 innings pitched. — Samford Athletics, AL.com, "Samford baseball to play for season sweep at No. 19 Auburn Tuesday," 23 Apr. 2018 And four minutes later, Ibrahimovic beat LAFC keeper Tyler Miller from wayyyyy out with a sidewinder swipe of his right leg, the kind of shot that few players in this world would even have the audacity to take, much less finish. — Grant Wahl, SI.com, "Zlatan More Than Lived Up to the Hype in Incredible First Edition of Galaxy-LAFC Rivalry," 31 Mar. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sidewinder.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for sidewinder
sidewinder
noun
side·wind·er
| \ ˈsīd-ˌwīnd-ər
\
\
Medical Definition of sidewinder
: a small pale-colored venomous rattlesnake of the genus Crotalus (C. cerastes) of the southwestern United States that moves by thrusting its body diagonally forward in a series of S-shaped curves
— called also horned rattlesnake