snipe
Use Snipe in a sentence
snipe
[snahyp] noun, plural snipes ( especially collectively ) snipe for 1, 2; verb, sniped, snip·ing. 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, especially anonymously or from a safe distance.
00:10
Snipe
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is peculate. Does it mean:
| to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle. |
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English snype (noun) < Old Norse -snīpa (in mȳrisnīpa moor snipe); cognate with Norwegian snipa, Icelandic snīpa; compare Danish sneppe, German Schnepfe
1275–1325; Middle English snype (noun) < Old Norse -snīpa (in mȳrisnīpa moor snipe); cognate with Norwegian snipa, Icelandic snīpa; compare Danish sneppe, German Schnepfe
Related forms
snipe·like, adjective
snip·er, noun
coun·ter·snip·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To snipe
Collins
World English Dictionary
snipe (snaɪp) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n , pl snipe, snipes | |
| 1. | any of various birds of the genus Gallinago (or Capella) and related genera, such as G. gallinago (common or Wilson's snipe), of marshes and river banks, having a long straight bill: family Scolopacidae (sandpipers, etc), order Charadriiformes |
| 2. | any of various similar related birds, such as certain sandpipers and curlews |
| 3. | a shot, esp a gunshot, fired from a place of concealment |
| —vb (when intr, | |
| 4. | to attack (a person or persons) with a rifle from a place of concealment |
| 5. | to criticize adversely a person or persons from a position of security |
| 6. | (intr) to hunt or shoot snipe |
| [C14: from Old Norse snīpa; related to Old High German snepfa Middle Dutch snippe] | |
| 'snipelike | |
| —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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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
snipe
long-billed marsh bird, early 14c., 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 c.1600. 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, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
snipe definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences
It doesn't need to be used to snipe, it can cause injury enough to knock someone out of a political race or a industrial position.
Critics may snipe that there is nothing uniquely non-profit about these traits.
The candidates snipe at each other's records almost daily.
Pan has yet to express any views except to snipe and snark at various and sundry commenters, primarily right-wingers.
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