snag

American  

[snag] / snæg /

noun

• snags
  plural

1. a tree or part of a tree held fast in the bottom of a river, lake, etc., and forming an impediment or danger to navigation.

2. a short, projecting stump, as of a branch broken or cut off.

3. any sharp or rough projection.

4. a jagged hole, tear, pull, or run in a fabric, as caused by catching on a sharp projection.

5. any obstacle or impediment.

6. a stump of a tooth or a projecting tooth; snaggletooth.

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verb (used with object)

• snags,
  present (3rd person singular)
• snagged,
  past participle,  past
• snagging
  present participle

1. to run or catch up on a snag.

2. to damage by so doing.

3. to obstruct or impede, as a snag does.

   He snagged all my efforts.

4. to grab; seize.

   to snag the last piece of pie.

verb (used without object)

• snags,
  present (3rd person singular)
• snagged,
  past participle,  past
• snagging
  present participle

1. to become entangled with some obstacle or hindrance.

2. to become tangled.

   This line snags every time I cast.

3. (of a boat) to strike a snag.

4. to form a snag.

snag British  

/ snæɡ /

noun

1. a difficulty or disadvantage

   the snag is that I have nothing suitable to wear

2. a sharp protuberance, such as a tree stump

3. a small loop or hole in a fabric caused by a sharp object

4. engineering a projection that brings to a stop a sliding or rotating component

5. a tree stump in a riverbed that is dangerous to navigation

6. a standing dead tree, esp one used as a perch by an eagle

7. slang (plural) sausages

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verb

1. (tr) to hinder or impede

2. (tr) to tear or catch (fabric)

3. (intr) to develop a snag

4. (intr) (of a boat) to strike or be damaged by a snag

5. (tr) to clear (a stretch of water) of snags

6. (tr) to seize (an opportunity, benefit, etc)

snag Idioms  

1. see hit a snag.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• snaglike
  adjective
• unsnagged
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• snags
  plural

Participles

• snagging
  present
• snagged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• snag
  simple
• snags
  simple
• have snagged
  perfect
• has snagged
  perfect
• am snagging
  progressive
• are snagging
  progressive
• is snagging
  progressive
• have been snagging
  perfect progressive
• has been snagging
  perfect progressive

Past

• snagged
  simple
• had snagged
  perfect
• was snagging
  progressive
• were snagging
  progressive
• had been snagging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will snag
  simple
• will have snagged
  perfect
• will be snagging
  progressive
• will have been snagging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of snag

First recorded in 1570–80, snag is from the Old Norse word snagi point, projection

Explanation

A snag is something sharp that sticks out, like a splinter or a dead tree branch. It’s also a hitch in a plan. If you develop a terrible cat allergy, your lifelong dream of being a cat trainer has hit a snag. A snag is something that you get stuck on, either literally or figuratively. If you catch your tights on a snag and change into different ones, it might put a snag in your plans to dress all in pink for the day. When something's caught this way, it snags. Snag, a U.S. coinage, was first used when steamboats got stuck on a log or branch in the river: "Captain, we've hit a snag!"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

snag snags snagged snagging

Sometimes it’s an urge to take profits after an exceedingly strong run or snag a bargain when markets are too pessimistic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

People who want to snag a ticket must have already pre-registered on the Glastonbury Festival website.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

The company’s 14th test involving Starship hit an early snag on Monday after one of its Raptor engines was shut down early during an ascent burn.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

Across town, dozens of people lined up outside the South Whittier Library before its 10 a.m. opening, hoping to be among the first to snag the card.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

I heard the “Bam, bam, bam” of a woodpecker high in the top of a box elder snag.

From "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls

Supply-chain management involves human judgment when unplanned snags arise, he said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

But most of the promised centers have run into snags.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026

Supply-chain snags hurt Lockheed Martin’s earnings, while other contractors face heavy investments to expand production lines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

I’m there to smooth out all of the snags that sometimes occur when nobody’s in charge.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026

So the Russian undid the snags one by one, and the scarecrow danced off into the night again without a word of thanks.

From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut

Travel columnist Dawn Gilbertson recently snagged an $860 hotel room in Rome for $210 for next month.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

After paying £299,995 for the house, she said getting it snagged was "non-negotiable".

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

Coca-Cola’s revamped Mr. Pibb snagged No. 1 on Morning Consult’s annual Fastest Growing Brands ranking, which is based on purchase consideration in consumer surveys.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

This year, an albino Pomeranian-Chihuahua named Pinky snagged second place in the competition.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

We pile into the third bus—Justin and Mike snagged seats early and are waving at us from the back.

From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed

She would probably not be snagging a role for a 45-year-old executive.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026

The Housing Ombudsman found Clarion had not handled the damp, mould and snagging issues appropriately even though the builder, Dandara, would still have been responsible during the defect period.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

But local plumber Kenyon's campaign was dogged by past offensive remarks about women, while the fringe hard-right Restore Britain party dented Reform's vote by snagging nearly 7 percent of returns.

From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026

Local fishermen pulled up two large masses of metal that had become fused together through centuries of marine corrosion after snagging them in their nets.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 8, 2026

We each grab our own bags and start snagging litter so fast you’d think we’d just guzzled a gallon of coffee.

From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein

Related Words

• barrier
• bug
• crunch
• difficulty
• disadvantage
• drawback
• glitch
• hitch
• holdup
• hurdle
• impediment
• inconvenience
• obstacle
• stumbling block