snack

American  

[snak] / snæk /

noun

snacks plural

1. a small portion of food or drink or a light meal, especially one eaten between regular meals.

2. a share or portion.

3. Slang. a sexy and physically attractive person; hottie.

4. Australian Slang. something easily done.

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verb (used without object)

snacks, present (3rd person singular) snacked, past participle, past snacking present participle

1. to have a snack or light meal, especially between regular meals.

   They snacked on tea and cake.

idioms

1. go snack / snacks, to share profits or returns.

snack British  

/ snæk /

noun

1. a light quick meal eaten between or in place of main meals

2. a sip or bite

3. rare a share

4. informal a very easy task

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verb

1. (intr) to eat a snack

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• snacks
  plural

Participles

• snacking
  present
• snacked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• snack
  simple
• snacks
  simple
• have snacked
  perfect
• has snacked
  perfect
• am snacking
  progressive
• are snacking
  progressive
• is snacking
  progressive
• have been snacking
  perfect progressive
• has been snacking
  perfect progressive

Past

• snacked
  simple
• had snacked
  perfect
• was snacking
  progressive
• were snacking
  progressive
• had been snacking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will snack
  simple
• will have snacked
  perfect
• will be snacking
  progressive
• will have been snacking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of snack

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English verb snacchen, snac(c)he, snak “(of a dog) to snap at, bite, seize”; Middle English noun snacche, snak(e); further origin uncertain; compare Middle Dutch snacken “(of a dog) to snap”: Norwegian dialect snaka “(of an animal) to snatch”

Explanation

A snack is a small serving of food between meals. Enjoy a healthy snack such as apples with peanut butter, or indulge in a bag of chips. After a huge breakfast, you might just want a light snack instead of lunch. You can use snack as a verb too: "After school, I like to snack on fruit and cookies and listen to music." Snack originally meant "snap or bite" in Middle English, usually in the context of a dog's bite. The noun was also used in the 17th century to mean "a portion or share," which led to the now-obsolete phrase "go snacks," meaning "share with someone."

Example Sentences

The thicker, chewier cousin of Spain’s more famous snack is the real draw at San Ginés.

From Salon • Jun. 23, 2026

The units became part of the furniture of the nation’s snack bars, concession stands and corner stores.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2026

Excluding those impacts, organic sales fell 3%, hurt by weaker snack demand and weather-related shipment disruptions during January.

From Barron's • Jun. 7, 2026

Katelijne Bekers, the CEO and co-founder of MicroHarvest, describes the cat snack Vegcat as having an umami taste without the bitterness of some plant-based proteins.

From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026

Boaz had been so distracted by Edelman’s snack preferences that he was certain he must have heard him wrong.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Related Words

• lunch
• morsel
• refreshment
• tea