snag
English · Thesaurus
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snag¹
- /snæɡ/ Australia, US, UK
- /snaɡ/ British, Northern England, Scotland
- /snæːɡ/ Australia
- /snɛɡ/ New Zealand
- /sneɪɡ/
Rhymes with -æɡ
Where it comes from
From earlier snag (“stump or branch of a tree”), from Middle English *snagge, *snage, from Old Norse snagi (“clothes peg”) (compare Old Norse snag-hyrndr (“snag-horned, having jagged corners”)), perhaps related to *sneganą, *snakaną (“to crawl, creep, wind about”) if the original meaning of the root *sneg- was more like “pointy object, stinging creature”. Note also *snakkōną (“to snap at, smack the lips; to blow”) (German schnacken (“to chat”)) and English sneck, snatch.
Compare Norwegian snag, snage (“protrusion; projecting point”), Icelandic snagi (“peg”). Also see the Dutch-origin fish names snoek and snook.
noun snags
-
A stump or base of a branch that has been lopped off; a short branch, or a sharp or rough branch.
The coat of arms / Now on a naked snag in triumph borne.
Similar: knot, protuberance
- A dead tree that remains standing.
- A tree, or a branch of a tree, fixed in the bottom of a river or other navigable water, and rising nearly or quite to the surface, by which boats are sometimes pierced and sunk. ‘A’most used-up I am, I do declare!’ she observed. ‘The jolting in the cars is pretty nigh as bad as if the rail was full of snags and sawyers.’
- Any sharp protuberant part of an object, which may catch, scratch, or tear other objects brought into contact with it.
-
A tooth projecting beyond the others; a broken or decayed tooth.
To ſee our Women's Teeth look white. / And ev'ry ſaucy ill-bred Fellow / Sneers at a Mouth profoundly yellow. / In China none hold Women ſweet, / Except their Snags are black as jett.
Similar: snaggletooth
-
A problem or difficulty with something.
we hit a snag
Similar: hitch
- A pulled thread or yarn, as in cloth; a tear.
- One of the secondary branches of an antler.
verb snags · snagging · snagged
- To catch or tear (e.g. fabric) upon a rough surface or projection. Be careful not to snag your stockings on that concrete bench!
- To damage or sink (a vessel) by collision; said of a tree or branch fixed to the bottom of a navigable body of water and partially submerged or rising to just beneath the surface. The steamboat was snagged on the Mississippi River in 1862.
- To fish by means of dragging a large hook or hooks on a line, intending to impale the body (rather than the mouth) of the target. We snagged for spoonbill from the eastern shore of the Mississippi River.
- To obtain or pick up, especially in a quick or surreptitious way. Ella snagged a bottle of water from the fridge before leaving for her jog.
- To cut the snags or branches from, as the stem of a tree; to hew roughly. When felled and snagged, one end of the tree is placed upon a small sledge, and dragged out of the bush by oxen
- To have noncommittal sexual relations. Shit, I remember when you were just rugged, bro. Snagging around and tepee-creeping at the stomp dance.
snag²
- /snæɡ/ Australia, US, UK
- /snaɡ/ British, Northern England, Scotland
- /snæːɡ/ Australia
- /snɛɡ/ New Zealand
- /sneɪɡ/
Rhymes with -æɡ
Where it comes from
The Australian National Dictionary Centre suggests that snag as slang for "sausage" most likely derives from the earlier British slang for "light meal", although it makes no comment on how it came to be specifically applied to sausages.Meanings and origins of Australian words and idioms The word's use in football slang originates as a shortening of "sausage roll", rhyming slang for "goal", to sausage, and hence, by synonymy, snag.
noun snags
- A light meal.
- A sausage. I fire up the barbie and start cooking snags.
- A goal. 2003, Greg Baum, "Silver anniversary of a goal achieved", The Age "It just kept coming down and I just kept putting them through the middle," he said. "I got an opportunity, and I kicked a few snags."
snag³
- /snæɡ/ Australia, US, UK
- /snaɡ/ British, Northern England, Scotland
- /snæːɡ/ Australia
- /snɛɡ/ New Zealand
- /sneɪɡ/
Rhymes with -æɡ
noun snags
- A misnaged, an opponent to Chassidic Judaism (more likely modern, for cultural reasons).
snag⁴
- /snæɡ/ Australia, US, UK
- /snaɡ/ British, Northern England, Scotland
- /snæːɡ/ Australia
- /snɛɡ/ New Zealand
- /sneɪɡ/
Rhymes with -æɡ
noun snags · SNAG
- Acronym of sensitive new age guy Over time, the ‘sensitive’ aspect of the SNAG has become paramount.
SNAG⁵
noun SNAGs
- Alternative letter-case form of snag (“sensitive new age guy”).
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: rub, hitch, hang-up, paste, rock, boring, dent, trap, stub, pitfall, tear, catch, complication, run, rip, take
Translations
Every language
noun stump or base of a branch
| Español | siete, rasgón |
|---|---|
| Français | aspérité, chicot |
| Deutsch | Aststumpf, Aststummel |
| Русский | коря́га korjága |
noun a dead tree that remains standing
| Español | árbol muerto en pie |
|---|---|
| Italiano | albero morto in piedi |
noun tree fixed in the bottom of a river or other navigable water
| Français | chicot |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Baumstumpf |
| Русский | топля́к toplják, коря́га korjága |
noun tooth projecting beyond the rest
| Français | chicot |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Zahnstumpf |
noun problem or difficulty
| Español | pega, intrígulis |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 些細なトラブル sasai na toraburu |
| Français | pépin, hic, couac, accroc |
| Deutsch | Haken, springender Punkt, Problem |
| Italiano | intoppo |
| Русский | препя́тствие prepjátstvije, загво́здка zagvózdka |
noun pulled thread or yarn
| Español | roto, desgarrón, jirón, siete |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | ほつれ hotsure |
| Français | accroc |
| Deutsch | Fadenzieher |
noun one of the secondary branches of an antler
| Français | andouiller |
|---|
verb to catch or tear
| Español | enganchar, trabar, atorar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | ほつれる hotsureru, 裂ける sakeru, 破ける yabukeru |
| Français | accrocher |
verb fishing: to fish by means of dragging a large hook or hooks on a line
| 日本語 | さびく sabiku, さっかける sakkakeru, ひっかける hikkakeru |
|---|
verb slang: to pick up
| Deutsch | sich schnappen, ergattern |
|---|
noun informal: sausage
| Русский | сосиска sosiska |
|---|
Talk about this word "snag." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/snag. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. snag. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/snag "snag." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/snag.Cite this
@misc{snag_2026,
title = {snag},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/snag},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
