boa
/ˈbəʊ.ə/US/ˈboʊ.ə/
boa noun: any of a group of large American snakes, of the genus Boa, subfamily Boinae, or family Boidae, including the boa constrictor and the emperor boa of Mexico.
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Noun (1)
boa (plural boas or (obsolete) boæ)
- Any of a group of large American snakes, of the genus Boa, subfamily Boinae, or family Boidae, including the boa constrictor and the emperor boa of Mexico.
- A type of long scarf; typically made from synthetic or real feathers (or occasionally fur), and usually worn by being draped across the shoulders with the ends hanging low, sometimes also with a loop around the neck.
- Do not take up your boa as if it were the rope with which you meant to hang yourself; nor wrap your shawl round you as if it were your shroud.1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVIII, in Romance and Reality. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 220
Proper noun capitalized: BOA
BOA
- Initialism of British Olympic Association.
Noun (2) capitalized: BoA
BoA (plural BoAs)
- Abbreviation of basin of attraction; the gravitational center of a supercluster of galaxies; a Great Attractor.
Noun (3) capitalized: Boa
Boa (plural Boas or Boa)
- A member of a Bwa-speaking ethnic group of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- Synonyms:
- Ababua
boa meaning in Hindi, Marathi, Bengali and Malayalam
boa in Hindi
- snake
- अजगर ajgar
boa in Marathi
- बोआ, बोवा
boa in Bengali
- বোয়া, বোআ
boa in Malayalam
- ബോവ, ബോവാ
More languagesFewer languages
- boa in Punjabi
- ਬੋਆ
- boa in Gujarati
- બોઆ, બોવા
- boa in Odia
- ବୋଆ
- boa in Nepali
- बोआ, बोवा
- boa in Arabic
- بُوَاء buwāʔ
Synonyms of boa
Forms of boa
| plural | boas |
|---|---|
| plural | BoAs |
| plural | Boas |
| plural | Boa |
| plural (obsolete) | boæ |
Origin of boa
From Middle English boa, from Latin boa (“large snake”), a species of serpent mentioned in Pliny's Naturalis Historia (Natural History). The scarf was named attributively, for its resemblance to the snake when worn.
Words formed from boa
Phrases with boa
- rosy boa
- sand boa
- tree boa
- Boa Vista
- water boa
- banana boa
- rubber boa
- rainbow boa
- boa constrictor
- boa constrictors
- emerald tree boa
- feather boa kelp
4 more phrasesFewer phrases
Words that rhyme with boa
Questions about boa
- What does boa mean?
- Boa means any of a group of large American snakes, of the genus Boa, subfamily Boinae, or family Boidae, including the boa constrictor and the emperor boa of Mexico.
- What is boa in Hindi?
- Boa in Hindi is अजगर (ajgar). See Boa meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is boa?
- Boa can be a noun or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce boa?
- Boa is pronounced /ˈbəʊ.ə/ (UK).
- What is the plural of boa?
- The plural of boa is boas.
Words near boa in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: boa (page history and authors); BOA (page history and authors); BoA (page history and authors); Boa (page history and authors); boa (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); boa (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); boa (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); boa (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); boa (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); boa (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); boa (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-boa.wav.
Cite this entry: “boa.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/boa. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.