snag

[snag] noun, verb, snagged, snag·ging.
noun
1.
a tree or part of a tree held fast in the bottom of a river, lake, etc., and forming an impediment or danger to navigation.
2.
a short, projecting stump, as of a branch broken or cut off.
3.
any sharp or rough projection.
4.
a jagged hole, tear, pull, or run in a fabric, as caused by catching on a sharp projection.
5.
any obstacle or impediment.
6.
a stump of a tooth or a projecting tooth; snaggletooth.
verb (used with object)
7.
to run or catch up on a snag.
8.
to damage by so doing.
9.
to obstruct or impede, as a snag does: He snagged all my efforts.
10.
to grab; seize: to snag the last piece of pie.
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verb (used without object)
11.
to become entangled with some obstacle or hindrance.
12.
to become tangled: This line snags every time I cast.
13.
(of a boat) to strike a snag.
14.
to form a snag.
Origin:
1570–80; < Old Norse snagi point, projection

Related forms
snag·like, adjective
un·snagged, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
snag (snæɡ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  a difficulty or disadvantage: the snag is that I have nothing suitable to wear
2.  a sharp protuberance, such as a tree stump
3.  a small loop or hole in a fabric caused by a sharp object
4.  engineering a projection that brings to a stop a sliding or rotating component
5.  chiefly (US), (Canadian) a tree stump in a riverbed that is dangerous to navigation
6.  (US), (Canadian) a standing dead tree, esp one used as a perch by an eagle
7.  slang (Austral) (plural) sausages
 
—vb , snags, snagging, snagged
8.  (tr) to hinder or impede
9.  (tr) to tear or catch (fabric)
10.  (intr) to develop a snag
11.  chiefly (US), (Canadian) (intr) (of a boat) to strike or be damaged by a snag
12.  chiefly (US), (Canadian) (tr) to clear (a stretch of water) of snags
13.  (US) (tr) to seize (an opportunity, benefit, etc)
 
[C16: of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse snaghyrndr sharp-pointed, Norwegian snage spike, Icelandic snagi peg]
 
'snaglike
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

snag
1577, "stump of a tree, branch," of Scand. origin, cf. O.N. snagi "clothes peg," snaga "a kind of ax." The meaning "sharp or jagged projection" is first recorded 1586; that of "obstacle, impediment" is 1829. The verb meaning "to be caught on an impediment" is attested from 1807, from the noun. Originally
Amer.Eng., often of steamboats caught on branches and stumps lodged in riverbeds. The meaning "to catch, steal, pick up" is Amer.Eng. colloquial, attested from 1895. Snaggle-toothed "having crooked, projecting teeth" (1585) is from the same root.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

snag definition


  1. n.
    a difficulty. : There's a little snag in our plan.
  2. n.
    an ugly (young) woman. : Who's the snag your brother is running around with?
  3. n.
    and SNAG. a Sensitive New-Age Guy. : There were only snags and bimbos at the rally, so I left.
  4. tv.
    to procure, grab, or steal something. : See if you can snag a couple of good seats while I get the popcorn.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary

snag definition


bug

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © Denis Howe 2010 http://foldoc.org
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

snag

see hit a snag.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
Anglers are urged to report any sturgeon they catch or unintentionally snag.
Didn't want to wear it hiking downhill because of the tree limbs which could snag it.
If a snag poses no threat of dropping large branches on people, leave it in place.
The snag, from society's point of view, is that all these drugs are horribly expensive.
Idioms & Phrases
hit a snag
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