mamba

IPA/ˈmæmbə/
KK[mˈɑmbə]IPA/ˈmæmbə/

mamba — noun

  • mambasingular
  • mambasplural

1. a fast-moving African snake with very strong poison that lives in trees or rocky

1.nounB2
Definition

a fast-moving African snake with very strong poison that lives in trees or rocky places and whose bite can kill a person within hours if no medical treatment is given

Example

Wildlife guide Ife showed the tourists where a mamba was resting in a tree.

collocation: wildlife guide / resting in a tree

The mamba can move faster than most people can run on uneven ground.

Common collocations
  • black mamba
  • green mamba
  • mamba bite
  • mamba venom
  • deadly mamba

Grammar Patterns

a / the mamba

mamba + verb (singular)

Usage Note

Often combined with a colour name — 'black mamba' and 'green mamba' refer to two different species, with the black mamba being the larger and more dangerous of the two.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Like mambas, cobras are venomous African snakes, but cobras spread their neck ribs to form a hood when threatened, while mambas do not. Vipers have thick, heavy bodies and triangular heads, whereas mambas are long and slender. Pythons are not venomous at all — they kill by squeezing their prey. A mamba's danger lies in its speed and its fast-acting nerve poison, which is far more lethal than a viper's venom. For example, a black mamba can kill an adult human in under an hour if untreated, while a python of the same size poses no venom threat at all.

cobra ↗viper ↗python ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • black mamba
  • green mamba
  • mamba attack
  • mamba strike

Prepositions

  • of a mamba
  • from a mamba

Etymology

ZuluEnglish

Mamba entered English in the 1860s from the Zulu word 'imamba', which is what Zulu speakers in southern Africa called this snake. The word originally referred to the green mamba and later extended to the black mamba as well.