snip

1 of 2

noun

ˈsnip 

1

a

: a small piece that is snipped off

also : fragment, bit

b

: a cut or notch made by snipping

c

: an act or sound of snipping

2

: a white or light mark

especially : a white spot between the nostrils of a horse

3

: a presumptuous or impertinent person

especially : an impertinent or saucy girl

4

British : bargain, buy

snip

2 of 2

verb

snipped; snipping

transitive verb

: to cut or cut off with or as if with shears or scissors

snipped the stray threads

specifically : to clip suddenly or by bits

intransitive verb

: to make a short quick cut with or as if with shears or scissors

snipper noun

Synonyms

Noun

• atom
• bit
• crumb
• dribble
• fleck
• flyspeck
• grain
• granule
• molecule
• morsel
• mote
• nubbin
• nugget
• particle
• patch
• scrap
• scruple
• snippet
• speck
• tittle

Verb

• bob
• clip
• crop
• cut
• cut back
• dock
• lop (off)
• nip
• pare
• poll
• prune
• shave
• shear
• trim

Examples of snip in a Sentence

Noun

cleared out the snips of paper that had been clogging the machine

that antique urn that we bought at London's Portobello Road Market was a real snip

Verb

He snipped some fresh herbs from plants on the windowsill.

snipping pictures out of magazines

She snipped at the hanging strings.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

After enjoying the beauty, remove the flower heads from the tulips with sharp, clean garden snips as soon as the petals drop. —Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 9 Apr. 2025

And then, snip by snip, she was cut out of the frame of Renaissance art history. —The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 3 Mar. 2025

Verb

Scrape glaze into a small zip-top plastic bag; seal bag and snip a small hole in 1 corner of bag. —Ann Taylor Pittman, Southern Living, 12 Apr. 2025

Step 1: Using sharp, sanitized pruners, snip a 5- to 6-inch-long cutting from the tip of a branch that ideally did not flower last year. —Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

from or akin to Dutch & Low German snip; akin to Middle High German snipfen to snap the fingers

First Known Use

Noun

1558, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1586, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for snip

• blip
• chip
• clip
• dip
• drip
• flip
• grip
• grippe
• hip
• ip
• kip
• lip

Kids Definition

snip

1 of 2 noun

ˈsnip 

1

: a small piece that is snipped off : fragment

2

: an act or sound of snipping

3

: a rude person

snip

2 of 2 verb

snipped; snipping

: to cut or cut off with or as if with shears or scissors

especially : to clip suddenly or by bits