snooze
Americanverb (used without object)
-
snoozes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
snoozed,
past participle, past
-
snoozing
present participle
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
snoozesimple
-
snoozessimple
-
have snoozedperfect
-
has snoozedperfect
-
am snoozingprogressive
-
are snoozingprogressive
-
is snoozingprogressive
-
have been snoozingperfect progressive
-
has been snoozingperfect progressive
Past
-
snoozedsimple
-
had snoozedperfect
-
was snoozingprogressive
-
were snoozingprogressive
-
had been snoozingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of snooze
First recorded in 1780–90; origin uncertain
Explanation
When you snooze, you take a quick nap during the day. Nobody snoozes for too long though, because then you’d just call it "sleeping." Maybe you’ve fallen asleep in class before, dozed off while watching a movie, or snoozed for a minute while learning some new vocabulary. Wake up, sleepyhead! Snoozing is a light type of sleep, probably without dreams even. If you like reading at the beach, make sure you’re wearing sunscreen in case you snooze off.
Vocabulary lists containing snooze
The Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer
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"Pitch Perfect," Vocabulary from the movie
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Festival of Sleep Day
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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.
See Examples For:
"When you're old, you don't give a toss what anyone thinks, really, so you feel very free. You can have a snooze in the afternoon, and nobody thinks that's odd."
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
About all they’re hitting is the snooze button — snoozing and, on Wednesday, losing 4-1 to the Cleveland Guardians at Dodger Stadium.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026
“It’s not like you’re sleeping in a little sleeping cube,” Shiffrin says of her snooze routine, which long ago earned her the nickname Sir Naps a Lot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026
We picture an idealized version of ourselves—disciplined, virtuous, rising at dawn—rather than the empirical version that hits the snooze button.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 30, 2025
“I wish they would cut the snooze music. Especially that violin player. What’s her name? Izzy?”
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
If kids can grow out of their pretend pals, so too can horror audiences of cynical snoozes like this.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 7, 2024
“A lot of times he snoozes at the bottom of the water.”
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 14, 2023
In Rest Mode, the ring snoozes your activity goals and readjusts your scores to prioritize recovery.
From The Verge ● Nov. 10, 2021
Not really enough to disrupt outdoor activity, the rain seemed the sort to foster contemplation and encourage Saturday snoozes and somnolence.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 7, 2021
He still doesn’t say anything, but he snuggles up next to me by the fireplace and we take long cozy snoozes together.
From "Bunnicula" by Deborah Howe and James Howe
A family of four adults on vacation happily snoozed in their pods with eye masks on.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
Norman, the 50-pound and coarsely haired guest, snoozed within the plastic walls of his igloo-shaped shelter in mid-November.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 24, 2023
I snoozed, and I lost: Not only did I not snag a seat in the actual courtroom, but the media-overflow room was the most packed it’s been the entire trial.
From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2023
While our parents snoozed and the cicadas chirped outside, my siblings and I closed the shutters and parked ourselves in front of the box.
From New York Times ● Oct. 14, 2022
Still glued to Gran’s heels, Viper snoozed in a curled ball on the plush carpet.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
This is especially true if there happen to be adoptable felines playing and snoozing in the shop’s showcase windows.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
Kiki will accompany the couple, who are currently based in Germany, at their shows before snoozing at home on the couch.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
It was 8:30 a.m., and most of the ship’s 4,000 passengers were still snoozing or filling their plates at the breakfast buffet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
About all they’re hitting is the snooze button — snoozing and, on Wednesday, losing 4-1 to the Cleveland Guardians at Dodger Stadium.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026
Wart was pleased that it was Kay’s turn to go through it now and he lay drowsily in the shade, snoozing, scratching, twitching like a dog and partly attending to the fun.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
