snack
Americannoun
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snacks
plural
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a small portion of food or drink or a light meal, especially one eaten between regular meals.
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a share or portion.
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Slang. a sexy and physically attractive person; hottie.
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Australian Slang. something easily done.
verb (used without object)
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snacks,
present (3rd person singular)
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snacked,
past participle, past
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snacking
present participle
idioms
noun
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a light quick meal eaten between or in place of main meals
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a sip or bite
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rare a share
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informal a very easy task
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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snacksimple
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snackssimple
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have snackedperfect
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has snackedperfect
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am snackingprogressive
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are snackingprogressive
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is snackingprogressive
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have been snackingperfect progressive
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has been snackingperfect progressive
Past
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snackedsimple
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had snackedperfect
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was snackingprogressive
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were snackingprogressive
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had been snackingperfect progressive
Future
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
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:
Pepperidge Farm founder Margaret Rudkin discovered Goldfish while on vacation in Europe and in 1962 licensed the crackers to sell in the U.S., marketing them as a bar snack for adults.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
They’re also sold at select comic shops throughout the country and in Burbank’s Horror Boodega, a nostalgic and scary-movie-themed snack shop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
However, PepsiCo’s stock is down around 10.6% so far this year, as inflation-battered shoppers have recalibrated their snack budgets and gravitated toward cheaper private-label brands.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
That late-night snack might have consequences beyond extra calories.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026
I wander into the kitchen in search of another snack.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
The sweets and snacks company, which owns Oreo and Ritz, posted a profit of $1.31 billion, or $1.02 a share, compared with $743 million, or 57 cents a share, a year earlier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
Theater operators have seen brisk sales of snacks, popcorn, and limited-edition movie themed merchandise.
From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026
His favorite part of the payday routine was going to the grocery store to pick out his favorite snacks.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
Refined carbohydrates include foods made with heavily processed grains and sugars, such as white bread, pastries, and many sugary snacks.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026
Back when we still hung out together, Trevor and I spent a lot of time making and eating snacks, especially chocolate ones.
From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks
A hurdle: The Patriots schedule is considerably harder than it was last season, when it snacked on light appetizers through January and got to play the AFC championship game against a backup QB.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Research group Circana says that last year 48.8% of consumers snacked three or more times a day, up 2.7 percentage points over 2024.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 7, 2026
Guests snacked on canapés and hors d’oeuvres before proceeding upstairs for the main course.
From Slate ● Mar. 3, 2025
As he pulled an almond off a tree and snacked on it, he said he would prefer to see farmland preserved for growing healthy food.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2023
Birds snacked on our blueberries; beetles went after the cucumbers.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
A late-night snacking episode can be a way to disconnect from the stress of daily life as a working parent, for example.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
I’m like the Thai, who eat eight meals a day, snacking throughout the day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
In late 2025, Kellanova was officially acquired by privately held snacking company Mars, which now handles U.S. manufacturing of the chips.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Add to this the sugar-hit snacking that keeps some shift workers going overnight and it makes for an extremely unhealthy cocktail.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
He strapped him into a muzzle to stop his snacking.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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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.
