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.
Meaning & usage
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.
A shot fired from a concealed place.
A member of the engineering department on a ship.
A goal.
Where this word 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.
To hunt snipe.
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.
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.
Where this word 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.
A cigarette butt.
An end of a log remaining after timber has been cut away.
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.
Where this word comes from
Probably from snip or a cognate
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.).
Where this word comes from
Either from sneap or a figurative development from Etymology 1.
To make malicious, underhand remarks or attacks.
To attach a note or sticker to (an existing poster) to provide further information, political criticism, etc.
Where this word comes from
Either from sneap or a figurative development from Etymology 1.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.