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

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

Nothing about the original snipe was surprising or subtle. —Philip Elliott / Detroit, TIME, 19 Oct. 2024

Verb

The latest: Over the summer, Premise sniped high-profile client Google from Amazon's One Medical, which had a longstanding worksite care partnership with the tech giant. —Claire Rychlewski, Axios, 25 Nov. 2024

Lamar continued to snipe at Drake on his new album, GNX. —Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 26 Nov. 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