sneeze

American  

[sneez] / sniz /

verb (used without object)

sneezed, sneezing

1. to emit air or breath suddenly, forcibly, and audibly through the nose and mouth by involuntary, spasmodic action.

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noun

1. an act or sound of sneezing.

verb phrase

1. sneeze at to treat with contempt; scorn.

   $50,000 is nothing to sneeze at.

sneeze British  

/ sniːz /

verb

1. (intr) to expel air and nasal secretions from the nose involuntarily, esp as the result of irritation of the nasal mucous membrane

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noun

1. the act or sound of sneezing

Other Word Forms

• sneezeless adjective
• sneezer noun
• sneezy adjective

Etymology

Origin of sneeze

1485–95; earlier snese; replacing Middle English fnese, Old English fnēosan; cognate with Dutch fniezen, Old Norse fnȳsa

Example Sentences

That is nothing to sneeze at—though it is dwarfed by the $13 trillion that was indexed to the S&P 500.

From The Wall Street Journal

"My eyes get all itchy, and I sneeze and feel terrible if I'm anywhere near a dog," his dad said.

From Literature

The Grand Prix winner of last year’s Cannes Critics Week, filmmaker Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s snaky, surprising fable starts with a sneeze and explodes into a saga about bureaucracy, modernization and moral corruption.

From Los Angeles Times

It sometimes occurs when a person sneezes or coughs vigorously, or pokes or rubs their eye.

From BBC

Pretty soon people began to sneeze from all the cat hair and soap powder in the air, and one lady broke out in big red blotches all over because she was allergic to cats.

From Literature