snub
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to treat with disdain or contempt, especially by ignoring.
- Synonyms:
- slight
-
to check or reject with a sharp rebuke or remark.
-
to check or stop suddenly (a rope or cable that is running out).
-
to check (a boat, an unbroken horse, etc.) by means of a rope or line made fast to a fixed object.
-
to pull up or stop abruptly in such a manner.
noun
-
an act or instance of snubbing.
-
an affront, slight, or rebuff.
-
a sudden check given to a rope or cable running out, a moving boat, or the like.
adjective
-
(of the nose) short and turned up at the tip.
verb
-
to insult (someone) deliberately
-
to stop or check the motion of (a boat, horse, etc) by taking turns of a rope or cable around a post or other fixed object
noun
-
a deliberately insulting act or remark
-
nautical
-
an elastic shock absorber attached to a mooring line
-
( as modifier )
a snub rope
-
adjective
Other Word Forms
- snubber noun
- snubbingly adverb
- snubby adjective
Etymology
Origin of snub
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English snubben, from Old Norse snubba “to scold, reprimand”; cognate with Middle Low German snūben
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Raleigh said after the Arozarena snub that he meant no disrespect to his teammate and that he’s simply trying to put on a game face for an international competition.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 16, 2026
The Oscars snub is a missed opportunity for more audiences to try to answer it.
From Slate • Mar. 13, 2026
When asked about Vance's apparent snub, Kobakhidze said Georgia would wait "for as long as it takes, patiently" for the US to change its position.
From Barron's • Feb. 10, 2026
There had been high hopes for Irish actor Paul Mescal, who played Buckley's co-star in Hamnet, but he missed out in what the industry has dubbed "a snub".
From BBC • Jan. 22, 2026
She was ash blond, petite, with a snub nose and huge blue eyes which she’d turn upwards during hymns.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
