venom

An animal's venom is a poisonous liquid that it uses to hurt its enemies.

When we think about venom, most people immediately picture snakes and spiders. These animals use their fangs or stingers to inject venom into someone who gets too close. But venom isn't just for reptiles and insects - some fish have venomous spines on their backs, and even some mammals can be poisonous if you get bitten by them. For example, a platypus has venom in its spur that it uses to defend itself from predators. When we talk about something being venomous, we mean it's got this special poison that can hurt people or animals.