snipe

1 of 2

noun

ˈsnīp 

plural snipes

1

or plural snipe : any of various usually slender-billed birds of the sandpiper family

especially : any of several game birds (especially genus Gallinago) especially of marshy areas

2

: a contemptible person

snipe

2 of 2

verb

sniped; sniping

intransitive verb

1

: to shoot at exposed individuals (as of an enemy's forces) from a usually concealed point of vantage

2

: to aim a carping or snide attack

sniper noun

Examples of snipe in a Sentence

Verb

Enemy fighters sniped at them from vacant buildings.

One of the senators sniped, “What does he think this is, a monarchy?”.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Pettersson took his time, stepped into the open space and uncorked a wicked top-shelf snipe. —Harman Dayal, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024

His first goal was a snipe that capped off tremendous back pressure from Gabriel Vilardi and Connor that turned into a Jets counterattack off a Panthers breakout. —Murat Ates, The Athletic, 21 Nov. 2024

Verb

After days of sniping at Johnson and the bipartisan efforts and a flood of tweets, some informed, some clearly not, Musk flipped his own script. —Dominic Patten, Deadline, 20 Dec. 2024

As seen in comics and the MCU movies, Black Widow can utilize melee weapons and martial arts as a close quarters defense if someone sneaks up on her while sniping, something Widowmaker can’t really do. —Echo Apsey, Rolling Stone, 11 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse snīpa snipe; akin to Old High German snepfa snipe

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1832, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

snipe

1 of 2 noun

ˈsnīp 

plural snipes or snipe

: any of several birds that have a long slender bill, live mostly in marshy areas, and are related to the sandpipers

snipe

2 of 2 verb

sniped; sniping

1

: to shoot at exposed individuals of an enemy's forces from a usually concealed point

2

: to attack with unfair or cutting remarks

sniper noun