Join free

snapper

English · Français · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

snapper¹

  • /ˈsnæpɚ/ US

Rhymes with -æpə(ɹ)

noun snappers · schnapper

  1. One who, or that which, snaps. a snapper-up of bargains
  2. Australia, New Zealand The fish Chrysophrys auratus, especially an adult of the species. Heigh-ho ye trawler men come on, forget the snapper and the prawn,
  3. US Any of the family Lutjanidae of percoid fishes, especially the red snapper.
  4. US A small bluefish.
  5. Ireland, slang A (human) baby. I've known him since he was a little snapper.
  6. The player who snaps the ball to start the play.
  7. US Small, paper-wrapped item containing a minute quantity of explosive composition coated on small bits of sand, which explodes noisily when thrown onto a hard surface.
  8. slang One who takes snaps; a photographer. The police snapper was on his tiptoes, angling for a vertical shot of the body.
  9. US, informal The snapping turtle.
  10. The green woodpecker, or yaffle (Picus viridis).
  11. A snap beetle (family Elateridae).
  12. historical A telegraphic device with a flexible metal tongue for producing clicks like those of the sounder.
  13. obsolete A percussive musical instrument consisting of a pair of items to be snapped together; castanet or bones.
  14. US, colloquial A string bean.
  15. slang The vulva. At thirty-nine, her snapper was snapping at practically every man that appeared halfway decent and had a pulse.
  16. slang A punchline. I don't want a pause before the snapper.
  17. US, historical A supporter of Senator Hill's premature scheduling of the Democratic National Committee convention of 1892.

    Opposite: anti-snapper

snapper²

Where it comes from

From Middle English snaperen, likely formed with the frequentative suffix -eren (Modern English -er). For the stem compare Norwegian Nynorsk snåva (“to stumble”), Swedish snäva (“to stumble”), obsolete German schnappen (“to totter, to limp”), Middle High German snaben, Middle Low German snaven (“to stumble”).

verb snappers · snappering · snappered

  1. To stumble, to trip.
  2. figuratively To fall into error; to make a mistake, and especially to stumble morally. A curate in specyall To snappar and to fall Into this opyn cryme

noun snappers

  1. Scotland A stumble, a trip.
  2. Scotland An error, a blunder, especially a moral slip-up.

Snapper³

Where it comes from

Named after the former "Snapper" Inn.

proper noun

  1. A hamlet in Goodleigh parish, North Devon district, Devon, England (OS grid ref SS5934).

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: cracker bonbon, cracker, chelydra serpentina, chrysophrys auratus, whipper, yellowtail, fish, turtle, snapping, snip-snap, snap, snaphance, snip, snippeting, yapper, snippy snip

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"snapper." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/snapper. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

snapper. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/snapper

Chicago

"snapper." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/snapper.

BibTeX
@misc{snapper_2026,
  title = {snapper},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/snapper},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}