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guttersnipe

[ guht-er-snahyp ]
/ ˈgʌt ərˌsnaɪp /
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noun
a person belonging to or characteristic of the lowest social group in a city.
a street urchin.
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Origin of guttersnipe

First recorded in 1855–60; gutter + snipe

OTHER WORDS FROM guttersnipe

gut·ter·snip·ish, adjective

Words nearby guttersnipe

gutted, gutter, gutter ball, guttering, gutter press, guttersnipe, guttiform, guttle, guttural, gutturalize, gutturalized
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to guttersnipe

vagrant, derelict, bankrupt, dependent, down-and-out, mendicant, pauper, suppliant, drifter, floater, hobo, stiff, tramp, transient, vagabond, cadger, beggar, bum, gamin, loafer

How to use guttersnipe in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for guttersnipe

guttersnipe
/ (ˈɡʌtəˌsnaɪp) /
noun
a child who spends most of his time in the streets, esp in a slum area
a person regarded as having the behaviour, morals, etc, of one brought up in squalor

Derived forms of guttersnipe

guttersnipish, adjective

Word Origin for guttersnipe

C19: originally a name applied to the common snipe (the bird), then to a person who gathered refuse from gutters in city streets
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
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