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Definition of wandering garter snake
wandering garter snake
Plural:wandering garter snakes
wandering garter snake Lexical Profile
CEFR
C2
Grade
9
Tier
3
Usage
Rare
• noun
1
North American A highly adaptable subspecies of the western terrestrial garter snake (Thamnophis elegans vagrans), native to western North America and characterized by a brownish or grayish body with a faint dorsal stripe and checkered spots.
Example
"During our hike through the foothills of the Rockies, we carefully stepped around a wandering garter snake basking on a sunlit rock."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Named for its remarkably broad geographic range and ability to adapt to diverse habitats ('wandering'), combined with 'garter snake', a name inspired by the snake's longitudinal stripes that resemble traditional striped garters.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.
180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer
Cite this Entry
Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Wandering garter snake. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Oct 14, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/wandering garter snake