Definition of "copperhead" [cop•per•head]

• A venomous snake (Agkistrodon contortrix) of the eastern and central United States, having a reddish-brown body marked with darker crossbands arranged in an hourglass pattern. (noun)
• A Northerner who sympathized with the South during the Civil War. (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.

• "After years of handling snakes I still get the willies form snakes. rattlesnakes usually give you a warning but the silent copperhead is just out to get ya. so I guess copperheads are my 2nd biggest fear of the outdoors."
• "The copperhead is plentiful here if you get to rocky areas, especially camping areas of the cons.dept. in Ozarks."
• "The copperhead is a poisonous serpent, that gives no warning of its approach, and hence is a type of a concealed or secret foe."