Definition of "constrictor" [con•strict•or]

• One that constricts, as a muscle that contracts or compresses a part or organ of the body. (noun)
• Any of various snakes, such as the python or boa, that tightly coil around and asphyxiate their prey. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "For those with both problems, a boa constrictor is activated."
• "Back home, boa constrictor is one of the meats put on the dinner table, and there is not much in the way of late-night television."
• "Burnham sees the trend and assumes that it is irresistible, rather as a rabbit fascinated by a boa constrictor might assume that a boa constrictor is the strongest thing in the world."