snare

¹

[ snair ]

noun

1. a device, often consisting of a noose, for capturing small game.
2. anything serving to entrap or entangle unawares; trap.

   Synonyms: pitfall, net

3. Surgery. a wire noose for removing tumors or the like by the roots or at the base.

verb (used with object)

, snared, snar·ing.

1. to catch with a snare; entangle.
2. to catch or involve by trickery or wile:

   to snare her into going.

snare

²

[ snair ]

noun

1. one of the strings of gut or of tightly spiraled metal stretched across the skin of a snare drum.

snare

¹

/ snɛə /

noun

1. a device for trapping birds or small animals, esp a flexible loop that is drawn tight around the prey
2. a surgical instrument for removing certain tumours, consisting of a wire loop that may be drawn tight around their base to sever or uproot them
3. anything that traps or entangles someone or something unawares

verb

1. to catch (birds or small animals) with a snare
2. to catch or trap in or as if in a snare; capture by trickery

snare

²

/ snɛə /

noun

1. See snare drum
   music a set of gut strings wound with wire fitted against the lower drumhead of a snare drum. They produce a rattling sound when the drum is beaten See snare drum

Derived Forms

• ˈsnareless, adjective
• ˈsnarer, noun

Other Words From

• snareless adjective
• snarer noun
• snaring·ly adverb
• un·snared adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of snare¹

First recorded before 1100; Middle English (noun and verb); cognate with Old Norse snara, Middle Low German snare, Old High German snar(a)ha

Origin of snare²

1680–90; < Middle Low German snare or Middle Dutch snaer string; replacing Old English snēr string of a musical instrument

Word History and Origins

Origin of snare¹

Old English sneare, from Old Norse snara; related to Old High German snaraha

Origin of snare²

C17: from Middle Dutch snaer or Middle Low German snare string; related to Gothic snōrjō basket

Synonym Study

See trap ¹.

Example Sentences

He just pats his snare a few times, as if he’s patting us on the back, bringing us into the music with him.

From Washington Post

Fluttering in the twilight like a lunch lady’s hairnet gone to war, the mesh would be a snare for O’Keefe’s quarry.

From FiveThirtyEight

In 2019, a global network of telescopes revealed a mass warping spacetime with such fervor that nothing, not even light, could escape its snare.

From Science News

Weighing in at a petite two pounds, this portable bluetooth speaker comes with extra-bass and live-sound modes, which you can tap it to emulate different sounds, like a snare or a kick drum.

From Popular-Science

For customers whose accounts often hover near zero, that convenience is just another snare in a financial trap, said Rebecca Borné, a CRL lawyer who worked on the study.

From ProPublica

Still more keys engage an array of other sounds, from snare drums and cymbals to awooga horns and sirens.

From The Daily Beast

Meant to capture fish by the gills (hence the name), they snare anything from sea turtles to dolphins.

From The Daily Beast

After police confronted Dilello with the wiretaps, she agreed to wear a wire to snare Hagiwara and admit her role in the plot.

From The Daily Beast

Should Mr. Greenberg snare a major settlement without A.I.G., the company could face additional lawsuits from other shareholders.

From The Daily Beast

It has snared, or threatens to snare, millions of taxpayers in the middle class and above.

From The Daily Beast

Consult not with him that layeth a snare for thee, and hide thy counsel from them that envy thee.

From Project Gutenberg

And treaties, of whatever kind with the enemies of God, that are condemned, are to be shunned as a snare to the soul.

From Project Gutenberg

It was when she found a reindeer caught in the vines that she took the first step in making a snare.

From Project Gutenberg

This granted, how can we know whether God wants to instruct us or to lay a snare for us?

From Project Gutenberg

Looking back, he saw that his fear of the world had been nothing to his fear of women, of the half-spiritual, half-sensual snare.

From Project Gutenberg