snare

[snair]

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noun

a device, often consisting of a noose, for capturing small game.
anything serving to entrap or entangle unawares; trap.
Surgery. a wire noose for removing tumors or the like by the roots or at the base.

verb (used with object), snared, snar·ing.

to catch with a snare; entangle.
to catch or involve by trickery or wile: to snare her into going.

Origin of snare

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

Related formssnare·less, adjectivesnar·er, nounsnar·ing·ly, adverbun·snared, adjective

Synonyms for snare

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1. See trap¹. 2. net, seine.

snare

[snair]

noun

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

Origin of snare

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for snare

entangle, enmesh, corral, lure, wire, bait, temptation, decoy, trick, enticement, come-on, catch, noose, net, allurement, deception, pitfall, quicksand, entrapment, seduce

Examples from the Web for snare

Contemporary Examples of snare

Still more keys engage an array of other sounds, from snare drums and cymbals to awooga horns and sirens.
How to Save Silent Movies: Inside New Jersey’s Cinema Paradiso
Rich Goldstein
October 2, 2014
Meant to capture fish by the gills (hence the name), they snare anything from sea turtles to dolphins.
New Report Reveals U.S. Fisheries Killing Thousands of Protected and Endangered Species
Abby Haglage
March 23, 2014
After police confronted Dilello with the wiretaps, she agreed to wear a wire to snare Hagiwara and admit her role in the plot.
The Chronicle of Peggy Hagiwara and a Botched Murder
Christine Pelisek
June 23, 2013
Should Mr. Greenberg snare a major settlement without A.I.G., the company could face additional lawsuits from other shareholders.
AIG May Sue the Government For An Insufficiently Generous Bailout
Megan McArdle
January 8, 2013
It has snared, or threatens to snare, millions of taxpayers in the middle class and above.
How Did We Leave Behind A Whopping Middle-class Tax Hike?
December 21, 2012

Historical Examples of snare

You are, indeed, fortunate in having escaped from the snare he laid for you.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
And when he saw I was not to be led, he endeavoured to drive me into the snare.
The Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz, Complete
Jean Francois Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de Retz
Which does not mean, however, that they are far from the snare.
The Book of Khalid
Ameen Rihani
It is a snare in which souls of average virtue often become entangled.
The Fat and the Thin
Emile Zola
Let not his natural affections be as the snare of the fowler unto his feet.
The Manxman
Hall Caine

British Dictionary definitions for snare

snare

noun

a device for trapping birds or small animals, esp a flexible loop that is drawn tight around the prey
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
anything that traps or entangles someone or something unawares

verb (tr)

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

Derived Formssnareless, adjectivesnarer, noun

Word Origin for snare

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

snare

noun

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 beatenSee snare drum

Word Origin for snare

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for snare

n.1

"noose for catching animals," late Old English, from a Scandinavian source, cf. Old Norse snara "noose, snare," related to soenri "twisted rope," from Proto-Germanic *snarkho (cf. Middle Dutch snare, Dutch snaar, Old High German snare, German Schnur "noose, cord," Old English snear "a string, cord"). Figuratively from c.1300.

n.2

"string across a drum," 1680s, probably from Dutch snaar "string," from same source as snare (n.1). From 1938 as short for snare-drum (1873).

late 14c., "to ensnare," from snare (n.1). Related: Snared; snaring.

snare in Medicine

snare

[snâr]

A surgical instrument with a wire loop controlled by a mechanism in the handle, used to remove growths, such as tumors and polyps.