Snail vs. Slug — What's the Difference?

A slow-moving gastropod.

A shell-less or nearly shell-less gastropod.

An invertebrate with a slimy trail.

A slow-moving, elongated mollusk.

Can be terrestrial or aquatic.

Often found in damp environments.

Often found in moist environments.

Can be pests in gardens due to their eating habits.

A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs.

Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word slug is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a small internal shell, particularly sea slugs and semislugs (this is in contrast to the common name snail, which applies to gastropods that have a coiled shell large enough that they can fully retract its soft parts into the shell).

Any of numerous aquatic or terrestrial gastropod mollusks that typically have a spirally coiled shell, retractile foot, and distinct head.

A round bullet larger than buckshot.

A slow-moving, lazy, or sluggish person.

A shot of liquor.

Any of very many animals (either hermaphroditic or nonhermaphroditic), of the class Gastropoda, having a coiled shell.

An amount of liquid, especially liquor, that is swallowed in one gulp; a swig.

A slow person; a sluggard.

A small metal disk for use in a vending or gambling machine, especially one used illegally.

(engineering) 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.

A lump of metal or glass prepared for further processing.

A tortoise or testudo; a movable roof or shed to protect besiegers.

A strip of type metal, less than type-high and thicker than a lead, used for spacing.

The pod of the snail clover.

A line of cast type in a single strip of metal.

(railroading) A locomotive with a prime mover but no traction motors, used to provide extra electrical power to another locomotive.

A compositor's type line of identifying marks or instructions, inserted temporarily in copy.

To move or travel very slowly.

(Physics) The British unit of mass that accelerates at the rate of one foot per second per second when acted on by a force of one pound on the surface of the Earth.

Any one of numerous species of terrestrial air-breathing gastropods belonging to the genus Helix and many allied genera of the family Helicidæ. They are abundant in nearly all parts of the world except the arctic regions, and feed almost entirely on vegetation; a land snail.

Any of various terrestrial gastropod mollusks having a slow-moving slimy elongated body with no shell or with a flat rudimentary shell on or under the skin, usually found in moist habitats.

Hence, a drone; a slow-moving person or thing.

A sea slug.

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.

The smooth soft larva of certain insects, such as the sawfly.

A tortoise; in ancient warfare, a movable roof or shed to protect besiegers; a testudo.

A slimy mass of aggregated amoeboid cells that develops into the spore-bearing fruiting body of a cellular slime mold.

The pod of the sanil clover.

(Informal) A sluggard.

Freshwater or marine or terrestrial gastropod mollusk usually having an external enclosing spiral shell

A hard heavy blow, as with the fist or a baseball bat.

Edible terrestrial snail usually served in the shell with a sauce of melted butter and garlic

A commuter who slugs.

Gather snails;

(Printing) To add slugs to.

A mollusk with a spiral coiled shell.

(Informal) To drink rapidly or in large gulps

To strike heavily, especially with the fist or a bat.

To wait for or obtain a ride to work by standing at a roadside hoping to be picked up by a driver who needs another passenger to use the HOV lanes of a highway.

Any of many terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks, having no (or only a rudimentary) shell.

(obsolete) A slow, lazy person; a sluggard.

A bullet or other projectile fired from a firearm; in modern usage, generally refers to a shotgun slug.

A solid block or piece of roughly shaped metal.

A counterfeit coin, especially one used to steal from vending machines.

A shot of a drink, usually alcoholic.

(journalism) A title, name or header, a catchline, a short phrase or title to indicate the content of a newspaper or magazine story for editing use.

The imperial (English) unit of mass that accelerates by 1 foot per second squared (1 ft/s²) when a force of one pound-force (lbf) is exerted on it.

A discrete mass of a material that moves as a unit, usually through another material.

A motile pseudoplasmodium formed by amoebae working together.

(railroading) An accessory to a diesel-electric locomotive, used to increase adhesive weight and allow full power to be applied at a lower speed. It has trucks with traction motors, but lacks a prime mover, being powered by electricity from the mother locomotive, and may or may not have a control cab.

(television editing) A black screen.

(metal typesetting) A piece of type metal imprinted by a linotype machine; also a black mark placed in the margin to indicate an error; also said in application to typewriters; type slug.

(regional) A stranger picked up as a passenger to enable legal use of high occupancy vehicle lanes.

A hitchhiking commuter.

(web design) The last part of a clean URL, the displayed resource name, similar to a filename.

(obsolete) A hindrance, an obstruction.

A ship that sails slowly.

To hit A hard blow, usually with the fist.

To drink quickly; to gulp; to down.

To take part in casual carpooling; to form ad hoc, informal carpools for commuting, essentially a variation of ride-share commuting and hitchhiking.

To become reduced in diameter, or changed in shape, by passing from a larger to a smaller part of the bore of the barrel.

To move slowly or sluggishly; to lie idle.

(transitive) To load with a slug or slugs.

To make sluggish.

(transitive) To hit very hard, usually with the fist.

A drone; a slow, lazy fellow; a sluggard.

A hindrance; an obstruction.

Any one of numerous species of terrestrial pulmonate mollusks belonging to Limax and several related genera, in which the shell is either small and concealed in the mantle, or altogether wanting. They are closely allied to the land snails.

Any smooth, soft larva of a sawfly or moth which creeps like a mollusk; as, the pear slug; rose slug.

A ship that sails slowly.

An irregularly shaped piece of metal, used as a missile for a gun.

A thick strip of metal less than type high, and as long as the width of a column or a page, - used in spacing out pages and to separate display lines, etc.

To move slowly; to lie idle.

To make sluggish.

To load with a slug or slugs; as, to slug a gun.

To strike heavily.

To become reduced in diameter, or changed in shape, by passing from a larger to a smaller part of the bore of the barrel; - said of a bullet when fired from a gun, pistol, or other firearm.

A projectile that is fired from a gun

An idle slothful person

Any of various terrestrial gastropods having an elongated slimy body and no external shell

Strike heavily, especially with the fist or a bat;

Be idle; exist in a changeless situation;

Known for its thick mucus secretion.

Largely yes, but it can vary. Both can consume plant matter, fungi, and some can even be carnivorous.

All true snails have shells, but the size and prominence can vary.

Slugs produce mucus for movement, protection, moisture retention, and defense against predators.

Not exactly. While similar, slugs either lack a shell entirely or have a small, internal one.

Yes, both can be pests in gardens as they feed on plants.

Yes, both snails and slugs belong to the class Gastropoda.

Yes, they have tentacles on their heads, with larger ones typically having eye-like structures at the tips.

Snails can retract into their shells for protection, while slugs can contract their bodies.

Yes, there are aquatic snails and some sea slugs in marine environments.

Most snails and slugs are hermaphroditic, meaning they have both male and female reproductive organs.

Snail shells are made of calcium carbonate and grow as the snail grows.

Absolutely, they help in decomposition, serve as food for various animals, and play roles in nutrient cycling.

Both produce a mucus trail, but the composition and purpose can vary.

Yes, salt can dehydrate and harm them, which is why it's sometimes used as a deterrent.

Natural deterrents include diatomaceous earth, copper barriers, and certain plants like rosemary and thyme.