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Definition of coral snake
coral snake
Plural:coral snakes
coral snake Lexical Profile
CEFR
B2
Grade
6
Tier
2
Usage
Rare
• noun
1
A highly venomous elapid snake native primarily to the Americas and parts of Asia, typically characterized by a vibrant pattern of contrasting bands, most famously red, yellow (or white), and black.
Example
"During the ecology field trip in Florida, the instructor reminded the students to keep their distance if they spotted a coral snake in the underbrush."
Synonyms
View all synonyms for coral snakeWord Nuance & Usage
In North America, the coral snake is often confused with harmless mimics like the scarlet kingsnake. It is commonly identified by the folk rhyme 'Red touches yellow, kills a fellow,' though this rule is dangerously inaccurate for coral snake species outside the United States.
• Nearby Words
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.
180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer
Cite this Entry
Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Coral snake. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Oct 16, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/coral snake