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Definition of pit viper

pit viper

Plural:pit vipers
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• noun

1

Any of a group of venomous snakes belonging to the subfamily Crotalinae, characterized by a heat-sensing pit organ located between the eye and the nostril on either side of the head, used to detect warm-blooded prey. Common examples include rattlesnakes, copperheads, and cottonmouths.

Example

"The herpetologist explained how the pit viper uses thermal radiation to strike at small rodents in complete darkness."

Synonyms
View all synonyms for pit viper

• Nearby Words

piston
pistou
pistyll rhaeadr
pit viper
pita
pitahaya
pitanga

Usage Trend

Historical frequency of usage in published text.

180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer

Cite this Entry

Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Pit viper. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Oct 17, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/pit%20viper
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