boa constrictor Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun very large boa of tropical America and West Indies
    Constrictor constrictor.

WordNet

Bo"a con*strict"or
Etymology
NL. See Boa, and Constrictor.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) A large and powerful serpent of tropical America, sometimes twenty or thirty feet long. See Illustration in Appendix. ✍ It has a succession of spots, alternately black and yellow, extending along the back. It kills its prey by constriction. The name is also loosely applied to other large serpents which crush their prey, particularly to those of the genus Python, found in Asia and Africa.

Webster 1913