snake pitn. Slang 1. A place full of disorder, lawlessness, and often malice.2. A mental hospital, especially one that is overcrowded and chaotic.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.snake? pit` or snake?pit`, n. 1. a mental hospital marked by squalor and inhumane or indifferent care for the patients. 2. an intensely chaotic or disagreeable place or situation. [after a novel with the same title (1946) by Mary Jane Ward (b. 1905), U.S. novelist] Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.