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# diamondback

«diamondback» in Mova's school dictionary: **A diamondback rattlesnake: a large, very venomous…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (a diamondback, diamondbacks); also used before another noun (a diamondback rattlesnake, a diamondback terrapin)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A diamondback rattlesnake: a large, very venomous American rattlesnake with a pattern of diamond shapes along its back and a rattle on its tail. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diamondback/#m1)

2) A diamondback terrapin: a small turtle with diamond-shaped patterns on its shell that lives in salty marshes along the east coast of the USA. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diamondback/#m2)

3) Any animal with diamond shapes on its back, for example the diamondback moth, a small pest of cabbages. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diamondback/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In science and nature lessons the eastern and western diamondback rattlesnakes are examples of venomous reptiles of North America: they shake the rattle on their tail as a warning, and their pattern helps them hide (camouflage). Safety lesson: if you hear a rattle on a trail, stand still, then slowly back away; never touch or poke a snake, and a bite needs emergency help at once. The diamondback terrapin is studied as an animal that lives in brackish water, where rivers meet the sea. In stories set in deserts or the American Southwest a diamondback is often the danger on the path. Phrases: «a western diamondback», «an eastern diamondback», «diamondback terrapin».

### examples

- A diamondback rattlesnake lay coiled in the shade of a rock. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diamondback/#x1)
- The diamondback shook its rattle to warn the hikers away. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diamondback/#x2)
- Diamondbacks are the largest rattlesnakes in North America. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diamondback/#x3)
- The ranger told us to back away slowly from the diamondback. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diamondback/#x4)
- A diamondback terrapin was sunning itself on the muddy bank. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diamondback/#x5)
- The terrapin's shell has a pattern like little diamonds. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diamondback/#x6)
- Diamondback moth caterpillars had eaten holes in the cabbages. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diamondback/#x7)
- In the zoo's reptile house we saw a western diamondback behind thick glass. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diamondback/#x8)

### note

Countable noun: one diamondback, two diamondbacks; one word, no hyphen. On its own it usually means the rattlesnake; for the turtle or moth people add «terrapin» or «moth». The «diamonds» are only a pattern of shapes, not jewels. Myth: you cannot tell a rattlesnake's exact age by counting its rattle segments, because it adds a new one each time it sheds its skin, and pieces can break off.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «diamondback» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diamondback/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.