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Sniped

 - 4 dictionary results

snipe

  [snahyp] noun, plural snipes, (especially collectively) snipe for 1, 2; verb sniped, snip⋅ing.
Use Sniped in a Sentence
–noun
1. any of several long-billed game birds of the genera Gallinago (Capella) and Limnocryptes, inhabiting marshy areas, as G. gallinago (common snipe), of Eurasia and North America, having barred and striped white, brown, and black plumage.
2. any of several other long-billed birds, as some sandpipers.
3. a shot, usually from a hidden position.
–verb (used without object)
4. to shoot or hunt snipe.
5. to shoot at individuals as opportunity offers from a concealed or distant position: The enemy was sniping from the roofs.
6. to attack a person or a person's work with petulant or snide criticism, esp. anonymously or from a safe distance.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME snype (n.) < ON -snīpa (in mȳrisnīpa moor snipe); c. Norw snipa, Icel snīpa; cf. Dan sneppe, G Schnepfe

Related forms:
snipelike, adjective
sniper, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Sniped
snipe   (snīp)   
n.  

  1. pl. snipe or snipes

    1. Any of various long-billed shore birds of the genus Gallinago or Capella, related to the woodcocks and sandpipers, especially the common, widely distributed species G. gallinago or C. gallinago.

    2. Any of various similar or related birds.

  2. A shot, especially a gunshot, from a concealed place.

intr.v.   sniped, snip·ing, snipes

  1. To shoot at individuals from a concealed place.

  2. To shoot snipe.

  3. To make malicious, underhand remarks or attacks.


[Middle English, probably from Old Norse -snīpa (as in mȳrisnīpa, marsh snipe).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
snipe

  1. n.
    a cigarette or cigar butt. : Down on skid row, a snipe won't be on the sidewalk for ten seconds.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

snipe  (n.)
long-billed marsh bird, c.1325, from O.N. -snipa in myrisnipa "moor snipe;" perhaps a common Gmc. term (cf. O.S. sneppa, M.Du. snippe, Du. snip, O.H.G. snepfa, Ger. Schnepfe "snipe"). The O.E. name was snite, which is of uncertain derivation. An opprobrious term (cf. guttersnipe) since 1604. The verb meaning "to shoot from a hidden place" is first attested 1773 (among British soldiers in India), in allusion to hunting snipe as game; sniper first attested 1824 in the sense of "sharpshooter."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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