snail 1 of 2

Definition of snailnext

snail

2 of 2

verb

as in to drag
to move slowly the highway construction work created a bottleneck that had cars snailing for the next five miles

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of snail
Noun
Smaller critters — hermit crabs, lightning whelks and snails — skittered along the seafloor. Max Chesnes, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Feb. 2026 And perhaps most importantly, two Zamboni machines moved, at the typical snail’s pace, across the surface. Sean Gregory, Time, 4 Feb. 2026
Verb
Could snail slime and salmon sperm be the next big things in skincare? Leslie Baumann, Miami Herald, 26 Jan. 2024 What can snail mucin do for your skin? Lacey Muinos, Health, 13 Feb. 2023 See All Example Sentences for snail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snail
Noun
  • Providing ample shade and maintaining healthy soil can help prevent issues, including occasional damage from slugs and snails, root rot, and powdery mildew.
    Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Feb. 2026
  • To make this mulch, crush broken terracotta pieces into smaller chunky shards and scatter them around snail and slug-vulnerable plants, including lettuces, hostas, or strawberries.
    Michelle Mastro, Martha Stewart, 6 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • Demanding papers, dragging away dissenters.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
  • Slave catchers could capture them, kidnap them and drag them back South.
    Jesse Wright, Chicago Tribune, 5 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • Generally, fungicides won’t effectively get rid of sooty mold, but sometimes horticultural oil sprays used to treat overwintering scale or crawlers can help to speed up its removal.
    Miri Talabac, Baltimore Sun, 23 Jan. 2026
  • The hand crawler takes a different approach.
    Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 22 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • Maybe the girl had crawled under a neighbor's trailer while playing hide-and-seek.
    Kristine Phillips, IndyStar, 5 Feb. 2026
  • Well, there was a great deal left in me, in an agony of embarrassment looking around for that hole on the floor to crawl into.
    Natalia Sánchez Loayza, Scientific American, 5 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • Retired or not, the world’s greatest quarterback does not have the luxury to indulge in sequential action—one thing at a time is for slowpokes and losers.
    Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 25 Jan. 2025
  • One group of 15 female rats, brighter in color than the rest, kept zooming past the others to make it into the houses first, making the rest of their furry colleagues look like slowpokes.
    Laura Bradley, Vulture, 17 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • And if this keeps up, the Hornets have a legitimate chance to end the NBA’s longest current playoff drought, which is creeping in on a full decade.
    Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 10 Feb. 2026
  • Nerves about possibly missing the NCAA Tournament have crept back in among fans in College Station.
    Tony Catalina, Austin American Statesman, 10 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • Kimmel wasn’t the only late-night host to poke fun at TPUSA’s counter-program, born out of MAGA’s outcry over Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny headlining the Super Bowl halftime show.
    Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2026
  • The Americans, meanwhile, stayed on their best, most humble behavior afterward, trying not to poke the wounded bear.
    Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • And once again, Pizza Hut was the laggard of the portfolio.
    Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 4 Feb. 2026
  • So Canada has been, admittedly, a defense laggard for a long time.
    David Frum, The Atlantic, 4 Feb. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Snail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snail. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.

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