snaffle

1
[ snaf-uhl ]
See synonyms for snaffle on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Also called snaffle bit . a bit, usually jointed in the middle and without a curb, with a large ring at each end to which a rein and cheek strap are attached.

verb (used with object),snaf·fled, snaf·fling.
  1. to put a snaffle on (a horse).

  2. to control with or as with a snaffle.

Origin of snaffle

1
1525–35; origin uncertain; compare Old Frisian snavel mouth, Dutch snavel,German Schnabel beak, bill

Words Nearby snaffle

Other definitions for snaffle (2 of 2)

snaffle2
[ snaf-uhl ]

verb (used with object),snaf·fled, snaf·fling.British Informal.
  1. to appropriate for one's own use, especially by devious means; purloin; filch.

Origin of snaffle

2
First recorded in 1715–25; origin uncertain

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use snaffle in a sentence

  • Deirdre heard the click, click of Ginger's snaffle, the chirping of young birds under the roof, while Conal was eating.

    The Pioneers | Katharine Susannah Prichard
  • The horses crunched them with a relish, their light snaffle bits acting as only slight impediments to their mastication.

    Peggy Stewart at School | Gabrielle E. Jackson
  • A vigorous stirring is bound to upheave what is searched for, so in due course the Captain dug up a snaffle-bit.

    John Ermine of the Yellowstone | Frederic Remington
  • He wondered why she hadn't taken advantage of the situation here to snaffle a husband.

    Industrial Revolution | Poul William Anderson
  • The latter held the reins in both hands, each rein being single and fastened to either side of a snaffle-like bit.

    Assyria, Its Princes, Priests and People | A. H. (Archibald Henry) Sayce

British Dictionary definitions for snaffle

snaffle

/ (ˈsnæfəl) /


noun
  1. Also called: snaffle bit a simple jointed bit for a horse

verb(tr)
  1. British informal to steal or take for oneself

  2. to equip or control with a snaffle

Origin of snaffle

1
C16: of uncertain origin; compare Old Frisian snavel mouth, Old High German snabul beak

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012