A desert rattlesnake that moves sideways with a distinctive S-shaped motion; also a sudden change in direction or a type of missile.
Compound word: 'side' + 'winder' (from 'wind,' meaning to move in curves). Named for the snake's unusual sideways locomotion pattern discovered and described in the 1800s.
The sidewinder rattlesnake's weird sideways slither is actually brilliant physics—by lifting most of its body off the scorching desert sand, it stays cooler and moves faster than snakes that slide normally!
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