python
/ˈpaɪθən/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈpaɪθɑːn/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈpī-ˌthän -thən/ (ame, mw)
python — noun
- pythonsingular
- pythonsplural
1. A large non-venomous snake native to tropical regions of Asia, Africa, and Austr
A large non-venomous snake native to tropical regions of Asia, Africa, and Australia. It kills its prey — usually small-to-medium mammals and birds — by coiling its body around the animal and squeezing until suffocation, then swallowing the prey whole. Some species grow over 6 metres long.
On a night safari, Indra spotted a python coiled around a branch above the trail.
collocation: python coiled around [something]
A python can unhinge its jaw to swallow animals much wider than its own head.
anatomical description: unhinge its jaw
Liang watched the python tighten its coils around the rodent until the prey stopped moving.
Eve carefully monitored the humidity inside her python's enclosure to keep the snake healthy.
The python's camouflage makes it almost invisible among fallen leaves and forest undergrowth.
- constrictor
A broader term for any snake that kills by squeezing; includes pythons, boas, and anacondas.
- boa
A different family (Boidae) that resembles pythons but gives live birth and lacks premaxillary teeth.
- serpent
A formal or literary word for any large snake; not specific to constrictors.
文法句型
a/the python
pythons (plural)
用法筆記
Pythons are non-venomous — they kill by constriction, not by venom. The word is also used as the name of a programming language (a proper noun), but that meaning functions as a separate lexical item.