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:
The man being served ahead of me, Dave, bites into his snack and he's instantly in heaven.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
On this iconic train journey through the center of Australia, the country’s most dangerous and unique creatures are turned into a tasty snack.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
“The Aztec culture pervades Mexico City’s daily life today in a thousand subtle ways,” Romero says, passing me a bowl of roasted grasshoppers, a crunchy pre-Hispanic snack.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
After the changes, snack sales were up 15% from a year before.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
They must be fed a snack every hour or so, and three or more hot meals a day.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
When Sam Corbett, 23, was in Japan in May he bought so many souvenirs - including snacks, matcha, clothes and skincare - that he had to buy an extra suitcase, which he stuffed full.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
These industrially produced foods include soft drinks, packaged cereals, snacks, and processed meats.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026
It also appeared that Guzmán López had brought along snacks from the Mexican gas station chain Oxxo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Food and beverage sales increased as the company added more space in its stores for fresh food, snacks and bakery items.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Nhamo padded from group to group with snacks.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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
In between pulls, she snacked on freeze-dried duck liver bits and got a massage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025
Guests snacked on canapés and hors d’oeuvres before proceeding upstairs for the main course.
From Slate ● Mar. 3, 2025
People snacked on chips and pan dulce and admired photo collages from Alatorre’s life and career pasted onto poster boards that also featured favorite Alatorre sayings: “Let me begin by beginning ...” “Órale.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2024
He drained gallons of milk, devoured entire large pizzas in one sitting, and often snacked from dinner to bedtime.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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
This includes the snacking category, where Rennie says consumers are interested in good quality, but smaller treat sizes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Chicks Luna and Sandy were seen safe and sound Sunday morning around 6 a.m. on the popular livestream nest cam aimed at their Big Bear pine tree, snacking on fish in the family aerie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
The new CEO has set out to streamline Nestlé’s portfolio around coffee, snacking, nutrition, and pet care, believing all four segments can deliver high-single-digit revenue growth.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
“They told Bertha they didn’t want to wake up one night to find a dragon snacking on their legs.”
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
