snipe
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snipe¹
- /snaɪp/
Rhymes with -aɪp
Where it comes from
From Middle English snipe, snype (“a type of bird”), from Old Norse snípa, as in mýrisnípa (“moor snipe”). Akin to Norwegian snipe.
* The verb originated in the 1770s among soldiers in British India, where a hunter skilled enough to kill the elusive bird was dubbed a sniper. The term sniper was first attested in 1824, in the sense of sharpshooter.
noun snipes · snipe
- Any of various limicoline game birds of the genera Gallinago, Lymnocryptes and Coenocorypha in the family Scolopacidae, having a long, slender, nearly straight beak.
- A fool; a blockhead. For I mine own gained knowledge should profane,/ If I would time expend with such a snipe,/ But for my sport and profit.
- A shot fired from a concealed place.
- A member of the engineering department on a ship.
- A goal.
verb snipes · sniping · sniped
- To hunt snipe. The pleasures of Bay bird shooting should not be spoken of in the same sentence with cocking or sniping.
- To shoot at individuals from a concealed place.
- To shoot with a sniper rifle.
- To watch a timed online auction and place a winning bid against (the current high bidder) at the last possible moment. I am the type who is liable to snipe you With two seconds left to go, whoa.
- To nose (a log) to make it drag or slip easily in skidding.
- To score a goal.
- To move the ball quickly in a different direction. The breakthrough duly arrived after 35 minutes, an absolute beauty of a team goal scored by Lozano. First Khedira was robbed deep in the Mexico half. Hernández sniped away from Jérôme Boateng and Mats Hummels. A flurry of skimmed passes across the wide-open spaces of the Germany defence left Lozano
snipe²
- /snaɪp/
Rhymes with -aɪp
Where it comes from
Probably from snip or a cognate
noun snipes
- A cigarette butt.
-
An end of a log remaining after timber has been cut away.
Similar: snipe-end
- An animated promotional logo during a television show.
- A strip of copy announcing some late breaking news or item of interest, typically placed in a print advertisement in such a way that it stands out from the ad.
- A bottle of wine measuring 0.1875 liters, one fourth the volume of a standard bottle; a quarter bottle or piccolo.
snipe³
- /snaɪp/
Rhymes with -aɪp
Where it comes from
Either from sneap or a figurative development from Etymology 1.
noun snipes
- A sharp, clever answer; sarcasm.
- A note or sticker attached to an existing poster to provide further information (e.g. an event is sold out, political criticism, etc.). [R]egular campaign posters are easily adapted to the student market by sniping them. […] The student snipe should say something like, "FOR STUDENTS ONLY: 5 EVENTS FOR AS LITTLE AS $20.00!"
verb snipes · sniping · sniped
-
To make malicious, underhand remarks or attacks.
Capitalizing on the restive mood, Mr. Farage, the U.K. Independence Party leader, took out an advertisement in The Daily Telegraph this week inviting unhappy Tories to defect. In it Mr. Farage sniped that the Cameron government — made up disproportionately of career politicians who graduated from Et
Similar: snark
- To attach a note or sticker to (an existing poster) to provide further information, political criticism, etc. Campus newspaper advertising rates are inexpensive, flyers can be simple because the ticket-price message is strong, and regular campaign posters are easily adapted to the student market by sniping them.
Snipe⁴
proper noun Snipes
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: sharpshoot, lash out, round, assault, assail, attack, dowitcher, shoot, pull, criticize, genus limnocryptes, limnocryptes, common snipe, snipe fly, shore snipe, painted snipe
Translations
Every language
noun bird of the family Scolopacidae
| Español | agachadiza, agachona, becacina, becardón, caica |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 田鴫 tashigi |
| 中文 | 沙錐鳥 /沙锥鸟 shāzhuīniǎo |
| Português | narceja |
| Français | bécassine |
| Deutsch | Schnepfe |
| Italiano | beccaccia, beccaccino |
| Ελληνικά | μπεκατσίνι bekatsíni |
| Română | becațină, becață |
| Русский | бека́с bekás |
| Tiếng Việt | dẽ giun |
| עברית | חרטומן khartomán |
verb shoot at individuals from a concealed place
| 日本語 | 狙撃する sogeki suru |
|---|---|
| Română | trage din ascunziș |
verb shoot with a sniper rifle
| 日本語 | 狙撃する sogeki suru |
|---|
Talk about this word "snipe." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/snipe. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. snipe. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/snipe "snipe." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/snipe.Cite this
@misc{snipe_2026,
title = {snipe},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/snipe},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
