snow

¹

[snoh]

noun

1. Meteorology.,  precipitation in the form of ice crystals, mainly of intricately branched, hexagonal form and often agglomerated into snowflakes, formed directly from the freezing of the water vapor in the air.

2. these flakes as forming a layer on the ground or other surface.

3. the fall of these flakes or a storm during which these flakes fall.

4. something resembling a layer of these flakes in whiteness, softness, or the like.

   the snow of fresh linen.

5. Literary.

   1. white blossoms.

   2. the white color of snow.

6. Slang.,  cocaine or heroin.

7. Informal.,  Usually snows snow tires.

   Most people up here keep their snows on through the end of April.

8. white spots or bands on a television screen caused by a weak signal.

verb (used without object)

1. to send down snow; fall as snow.

2. to descend like snow.

verb (used with object)

1. to let fall as or like snow.

2. Slang.

   1. to make an overwhelming impression on.

      The view really snowed them.

   2. to persuade or deceive.

      She was snowed into believing everything.

verb phrase

1. snow under

   1. to cover with or bury in snow.

   2. to overwhelm with a larger amount of something than can be conveniently dealt with.

   3. to defeat overwhelmingly.

Snow

²

[snoh]

noun

1. Sir Charles Percy C. P. Snow, 1905–80, English novelist and scientist.

Snow

¹

/ snəʊ /

noun

1. C ( harles ) P ( ercy ), Baron. 1905–80, British novelist and physicist. His novels include the series Strangers and Brothers (1949–70)

snow

²

/ snəʊ /

noun

1. precipitation from clouds in the form of flakes of ice crystals formed in the upper atmosphere

2. a layer of snowflakes on the ground

3. a fall of such precipitation

4. anything resembling snow in whiteness, softness, etc

5. the random pattern of white spots on a television or radar screen, produced by noise in the receiver and occurring when the signal is weak or absent

6. slang,  cocaine

7. See carbon dioxide snow

verb

1. (intr; with it as subject) to be the case that snow is falling

2. (tr; usually passive, foll by over, under, in, or up) to cover or confine with a heavy fall of snow

3. to fall or cause to fall as or like snow

4. slang,  (tr) to deceive or overwhelm with elaborate often insincere talk See snow job

5. to be overwhelmed, esp with paperwork

snow

1. Precipitation that falls to earth in the form of ice crystals that have complex branched hexagonal patterns. Snow usually falls from stratus and stratocumulus clouds, but it can also fall from cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds.

Other Word Forms

• snowless adjective
• snowlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of snow¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun snou(e), Old English snāw; cognate with Dutch sneeuw, German Schnee, Old Norse snǣr, Gothic snaiws, Latin nix (genitive nivis ), Greek níps (accusative nípha ), Old Church Slavonic sněgŭ; verb derivative of the noun

Origin of snow²

First recorded in 1665–75

Word History and Origins

Origin of snow¹

Old English snāw; related to Old Norse snjōr, Gothic snaiws, Old High German snēo, Greek nipha

Idioms and Phrases

• pure as the driven snow

Example Sentences

It is also likely to turn colder again with the threat of snow and 'frost days'.

Read more on BBC

Lake effect snow downwind of Lakes Superior, Erie, and Ontario could reduce visibility on roadways on Thanksgiving, with more than a foot of snow expected in some areas by Friday.

Read more on Barron's

Even though the outdoor events are at a sufficiently high altitude, organisers of the Milan-Cortina Games are stockpiling artificial snow, just in case.

Read more on Barron's

The last time the UK saw a widespread white Christmas was back in 2010, when snow fell at 19% of weather stations, and very unusually, 83% of stations reported snow lying on the ground.

Read more on BBC

California receives the vast bulk of its rain and snow between December and March, trapping the runoff in its reservoirs to mete out during the hot, dry seasons that follow.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• blizzard 
• snowstorm