How to pronounce snake
Say it like SNAYK. Snake is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress.
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce snake. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- SNAYK
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Snake pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- SNAYKSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "ay" in day.
American vs British pronunciation of snake
American and British speakers say snake in essentially the same way: /sneɪk/ in the US and /sneɪk/ in the UK.
British respelling: SNAYK.
What does snake mean?
- limbless scaly elongate reptile; some are venomous
- a deceitful or treacherous person
- a tributary of the Columbia River that rises in Wyoming and flows westward; discovered in 1805 by the Lewis and Clark Expedition
- move smoothly and sinuously, like a snake
- form a snake-like pattern“The river snakes through the valley”
- move along a winding path“The army snaked through the jungle”
Where does snake come from?
Cognate with German Low German Snake, Snaak (“snake”), dialectal German Schnake (“adder”), Danish snog (“grass snake”), Swedish snok (“grass snake”), Norwegian Nynorsk snåk (“viper, adder”), Faroese snákur (“grass snake”), Icelandic snákur (“snake”).
Similar and opposite words
Similar meaning
Words that rhyme with snake
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of snake.
Questions about saying snake
How do you pronounce snake?
Say SNAYK. The American pronunciation is /sneɪk/. In British English it is /sneɪk/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in snake?
Snake is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: SNAYK.
Do Americans and Brits say snake the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /sneɪk/ and the British form is /sneɪk/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.