Boa Definition & Meaning

American

British

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms boa American [boh-uh] / ˈboʊ ə /

noun

plural

boas

1. any of several nonvenomous, chiefly tropical constrictors of the family Boidae, having vestigial hind limbs at the base of the tail.

2. a scarf or stole of feathers, fur, or fabric.

boa British / ˈbəʊə /

noun

1. any large nonvenomous snake of the family Boidae , most of which occur in Central and South America and the Caribbean. They have vestigial hind limbs and kill their prey by constriction

2. a woman's long thin scarf, usually of feathers or fur

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of boa

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin: water adder

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This method uses a family tree of snakes to infer the body lengths of ancient anacondas and related modern species such as tree boas and rainbow boas.

From Science Daily

Using powerful microscopes, the researchers discovered that species such as ball pythons, Angolan pythons, and Madagascan tree boas produce urates made up of tiny textured spheres between 1 and 10 micrometers across.

From Science Daily

Part of why I love that it’s Vegas is that there’s this ceilinglessness in terms of no holds barred again, like I want to wear a boa.

From Los Angeles Times

In their family photos, Lincoln wore a feather boa to match Rowan and Finley’s.

From Los Angeles Times

We went out back and put boas on and we had our moment.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bandanna
• shawl
• stole

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.