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

First-time electric vehicle buyers in California can now snag a $3,500 instant rebate on new EVs made by Tesla, Hyundai or Lucid.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

Sometimes people snag a $1.50 hot dog from a cart on the casino floor while they wait.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

The snag is that you have to be an MSP to stand for the leadership and she will not be able to take her seat until the Scottish Parliament returns in September.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

But just when Gil's rescue seemed imminent, the rescuers hit yet another snag: the security guard's legs were stuck in a chair.

From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026

Managed to snag a water bottle before it disappeared.

From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi

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

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

An announcement could come as soon as Monday, barring any last-minute snags, the people said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

OK, not that huge a surprise when a series nominated for its first three seasons, and winning for its first, snags another nod.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

That’s the new forecast from Christopher Granville, a managing director and political researcher at the firm, who sees potential solutions to fully reopening the Strait Hormuz as likely to hit some serious snags.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 18, 2026

But she snags it back, and some of it spills onto her dress.

From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

He’s also in good company: Emily Blunt and John Krasinski are neighbors, having snagged a full-floor apartment in the building for $11 million the following year.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

They monitored the prices for a while and snagged their tickets three days before the game.

From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026

It wasn’t my airline of choice but I snagged some cheap deals over the years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

I knew some edge of it was jagged, but I couldn’t figure out which one, until I snagged a memory of eerie green coyotes with white eyes.

From "Turtles All the Way Down" by John Green

There’s the human connection—a charismatic seller appealing to you personally, fellow buyers fawning over items you’d normally scroll past, lucky bidders snagging deals in an era when everything seems to come at a premium.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 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

Here are tips for visiting redwoods, snagging hotel pool day-pass deals, and taking your dog for a hike on a friendly L.A. trail.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2026

Because of the wind, which would make the shooting much more difficult, he could probably afford to go slowly enough so as to assure snagging the glasses.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

Related Words

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