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Noun: sidewinder  'sId,wIn-du(r)
  1. Small pale-coloured desert rattlesnake of southwestern United States; body moves in an s-shaped curve
    "The sidewinder left its distinctive tracks in the desert sand";
    - horned rattlesnake, Crotalus cerastes
     
  2. Air-to-air missile with infrared homing device
    "The fighter jet was equipped with sidewinder missiles"

Derived forms: sidewinders

Type of: missile, rattler [N. Amer, informal], rattlesnake

Part of: Crotalus, genus Crotalus

Encyclopedia: Sidewinder