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# sidewinder

noun (a sidewinder, sidewinders)

«sidewinder» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A small rattlesnake from the deserts of the south-western USA and Mexico that moves sideways by throwing its body in loops across the sand. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sidewinder/#m1)
2. Any snake that moves this way (some vipers in African deserts do too). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sidewinder/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science lessons about deserts and animal movement, sidewinding lets a snake move on loose, hot sand with only small parts of its body touching the ground, leaving J-shaped tracks. The sidewinder has little horns above its eyes. Phrases: «sidewinder rattlesnake», «sidewinding».

### Examples

- The sidewinder moved sideways across the hot sand. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sidewinder/#x1)
- Sidewinders leave J-shaped tracks in the desert. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sidewinder/#x2)
- Only a little of the sidewinder's body touches the sand at once. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sidewinder/#x3)
- The sidewinder is a small rattlesnake. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sidewinder/#x4)
- Sidewinders hunt lizards and mice at night. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sidewinder/#x5)
- Never go near a rattlesnake, even a small one. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sidewinder/#x6)

### Note

Countable. Related: «sidewind» (verb, rare), «sidewinding». Safety: the sidewinder is venomous — keep away and tell an adult. Also the name of a missile, but children rarely need that.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «sidewinder» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sidewinder/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«sidewinder» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/sidewinder.html) on Mova free.