snort

American  

[snawrt] / snɔrt /

verb (used without object)

1. (of animals) to force the breath violently through the nostrils with a loud, harsh sound.

   The spirited horse snorted and shied at the train.

2. (of persons) to express contempt, indignation, etc., by a similar sound.

3. Slang. to take a drug by inhaling.

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verb (used with object)

1. to utter with a snort.

2. to expel (air, sound, etc.) by or as by snorting.

3. Slang. to take (a drug) by inhaling.

   to snort cocaine.

noun

1. the act or sound of snorting.

2. Slang. a quick drink of liquor; shot.

3. Slang.

   1. an act or instance of taking a drug by inhalation.

   2. the amount of drug inhaled.

4. British. snorkel.

snort British  

/ snɔːt /

verb

1. (intr) to exhale forcibly through the nostrils, making a characteristic noise

2. (intr) (of a person) to express contempt or annoyance by such an exhalation

3. (tr) to utter in a contemptuous or annoyed manner

4. slang to inhale (a powdered drug) through the nostrils

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noun

1. a forcible exhalation of air through the nostrils, esp (of persons) as a noise of contempt or annoyance

2. slang an instance of snorting a drug

3. Also called: snorter.  slang a short drink, esp an alcoholic one

4. slang the snorkel on a submarine

Other Word Forms

• snorting
  noun
• snortingly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of snort

1325–75; Middle English snorten (v.); probably akin to snore

Explanation

A snort is a sound you make by suddenly exhaling through your nose, especially if you're disgusted by something. Your response to your little brother's tempter tantrum might be a disdainful snort. You can use the word snort as a noun or a verb — students might find it hard not to snort when they're listening to a boring and endless lecture by their vice principal. You and your friends may also snort with contempt when you're watching a really bad movie. In the fourteenth century, to snort meant to snore — it wasn't until the 1800's that snort came to mean "verbally express contempt."

Example Sentences

Today, all that’s left is the barn, an outsize metal sculpture of a charging boar named Lord Snort and a single, long stone wall.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 3, 2019

The attack was tested, without the base64 encoding, against an enterprise layer 7 firewall with a Snort based IPS.

From Forbes • Oct. 10, 2013

Sourcefire’s open-source security product Snort “was an important attribute that attracted us to Sourcefire,” Young said.

From Washington Post • Jul. 24, 2013

Snort is an intrusion detection and prevention technology with nearly 4 million downloads.

From Washington Post • Jul. 24, 2013

Snort, snort, v.i. to force the air with violence and noise through the nostrils, as horses: to laugh boisterously.—v.t. to express by a snort: to force out, as by a snort.—ns.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various

Related Words

• grunt