The Sidewinder is named for its unusual form of movement across hot desert sands. It forms a letter-S shape in order to move sideways across the sand with only two points touching the ground at any moment, thus reducing exposure of its body to heat.

While the Sidewinder is venomous, its bite is not fatal to adult humans.

This snake is a pit viper, using its sensory pits to detect the infra-red (heat) radiation of potential prey. The warhead and heat-seeking guidance system of the American-designed AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile (which is named for the snake) parallel the snake's venom and these sensory organs.