viper

/ˈvaɪpər/

/ˈvaɪpə/

Other forms: vipers

A viper is a certain type of poisonous snake. The most common vipers in the United States are rattlesnakes and water moccasins.

Vipers are found in most places on earth and they're a diverse group with over 200 species. Vipers have specialized pits on their faces that can detect heat that's emitted from their prey, which gives them a big advantage to sense and catch their prey quickly. Viper is a scientific name for a particular family of snakes that poison others by biting them with hollow fangs that inject venom. And because of that, viper (and snake) are often used to describe spiteful, disloyal, or back-stabbing people.

Definitions of viper

1. noun

   venomous Old World snakes characterized by hollow venom-conducting fangs in the upper jaw
   types:

   Vipera berus, adder, common viper

   small terrestrial viper common in northern Eurasia

   Vipera aspis, asp, asp viper

   of southern Europe; similar to but smaller than the adder

   Bitis arietans, puff adder

   large African viper that inflates its body when alarmed

   Bitis gabonica, gaboon viper

   large heavy-bodied brilliantly marked and extremely venomous west African viper

   Cerastes cornutus, cerastes, horned asp, horned viper, sand viper

   highly venomous viper of northern Africa and southwestern Asia having a horny spine above each eye

   pit viper

   New World vipers with hollow fangs and a heat-sensitive pit on each side of the head

   Agkistrodon contortrix, copperhead

   common coppery brown pit viper of upland eastern United States

   Agkistrodon piscivorus, cottonmouth, cottonmouth moccasin, water moccasin

   venomous semiaquatic snake of swamps in southern United States

   rattler, rattlesnake

   pit viper with horny segments at the end of the tail that rattle when shaken

   Bothrops atrops, fer-de-lance

   large extremely venomous pit viper of Central America and South America

   type of:

   ophidian, serpent, snake

   limbless scaly elongate reptile; some are venomous