slither

Meaning

Verb

1. (intransitive) To move about smoothly and from side to side.
2. (intransitive) To slide.

Adj

Slithery; slippery.

Noun

1. (uncountable) A limestone rubble.
2. (nonstandard, uncountable) A sliver.

Synonyms

crawl

creep

slide

slip

wriggle

glide

snake

🐍

writhe

slick

worm

🪱

squirm

twist

sleek

wiggle

slip away

spiral

splinter

twitch

wag

wind

wobble

wreathe

wrestle

advance slowly

creep along

move slowly

slip along

circumvolute

climb

alder wood

corkscrew

curl

glissade

jiggle

joggle

lapse

move

move around

prowl

pussyfoot

shake

🫨

shimmy

skate

Translations

glisser

deslizarse

ramper

schlittern

γλιστρώ

onduler

kaymak

glibberen

kaydırmak

kriechen

gleiten

arrastrarse

resbalar

llenegar

gatejar

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈslɪð.ə(ɹ)/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: slitheren

Inherited from Old English: slidrian

Cognate with Dutch: slidderen

Cognate with German: schlittern

In summary

From Middle English slitheren, alteration of slideren (“to slither, creep”), from Old English slidrian (“to slip, slide, slither”), from Proto-West Germanic *slidrōn (“to slide, slither”), from Proto-Indo-European *sleydʰ- (“to slip”), equivalent to slide + -er (frequentative suffix). Cognate with Dutch slidderen (“to slip, wriggle, slither”), German schlittern (“to slither, skid”). More at slide.