# snail

> English word · Noun · IPA /sneɪl/ · frequency rank #11,796

## Definitions
1. Any of very many animals (either hermaphroditic or nonhermaphroditic), of the class Gastropoda, having a coiled shell.
2. A slow person; a sluggard.
3. A spiral cam, or a flat piece of metal of spirally curved outline, used for giving motion to, or changing the position of, another part, as the hammer tail of a striking clock.
4. A tortoise or testudo; a movable roof or shed to protect besiegers.
5. The pod of the snail clover.
6. A locomotive with a prime mover but no traction motors, used to provide extra electrical power to another locomotive.

## Etymology
From Middle English snayl, snail, from the Old English sneġel, from Proto-Germanic *snagilaz. Cognate with Low German Snagel,
Snâel, Snâl (“snail”), German Schnegel (“slug”). Compare also Old Norse snigill, from Proto-Germanic *snigilaz.

## Easily confused with
- **SNL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snail-vs-snl)
- **soil** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snail-vs-soil)
- **snap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snail-vs-snap)
- **snip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snail-vs-snip)
- **Spain** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snail-vs-spain)
- **snake** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snail-vs-snake)
- **spoil** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snail-vs-spoil)
- **stall** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snail-vs-stall)
- **stain** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snail-vs-stain)
- **stair** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snail-vs-stair)
- **snare** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snail-vs-snare)
- **swain** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snail-vs-swain)
- **Snape** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snail-vs-snape)
- **Sybil** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snail-vs-sybil)
- **snell** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snail-vs-snell)
- **Sunil** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snail-vs-sunil)
- **snark** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snail-vs-snark)
- **snarl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snail-vs-snarl)
- **staid** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snail-vs-staid)
- **sal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sal-vs-snail)

## Common misspellings (7)
`nsail`, `sanil`, `snaill`, `snali`, `snial`, `snnail`, `ssnail`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/snail