sniper definition | Dictionary.com

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, 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.
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Link To sniper

snip·er (snī'pər)

A skilled military shooter detailed to spot and pick off enemy soldiers from a concealed place.
One who shoots at other people from a concealed place.

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