snicker
Americanverb (used without object)
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snickers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
snickered,
past participle, past
-
snickering
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
snickers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
snickered,
past participle, past
-
snickering
present participle
noun
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snickers
plural
noun
verb
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Equivalent term (in Britain and certain other countries): snigger. to utter such a laugh
-
(of a horse) to whinny
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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snickersimple
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snickerssimple
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have snickeredperfect
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has snickeredperfect
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am snickeringprogressive
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are snickeringprogressive
-
is snickeringprogressive
-
have been snickeringperfect progressive
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has been snickeringperfect progressive
Past
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snickeredsimple
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had snickeredperfect
-
was snickeringprogressive
-
were snickeringprogressive
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had been snickeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of snicker
First recorded in 1685–95; of expressive origin
Explanation
To snicker is to laugh in a mean or disrespectful way, often expressing superiority. We might snicker at a bully who walks directly into a closed door. You can also use this word's near-synonym, snigger, to describe a short snort of a laugh or a scornful sound. You know your stand-up comedy act isn't going well when you don't even get snickers from your audience. A secondary meaning of snicker is horse-related: to whinny. It's actually from this use that the Snickers candy bar gets its name. In 1930, the Mars family named it after their favorite horse — Snickers.
Vocabulary lists containing snicker
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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Where the Red Fern Grows
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Jokes about Twitch streamers getting paid to do nothing were funnier the first 1,000 times you saw them somewhere, and even then, they weren’t worth more than a passing snicker.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
I got several quizzical looks and perhaps a snicker.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
"Like, wait a minute, you didn't pay anything at all, and yet you still have complaints?" she said with a snicker.
From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026
The differences were stark and — save for the occasional groan, eye roll or sarcastic snicker — politely received.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2024
“Oh, don’t you worry about that,” Yossarian comforted him with a toneless snicker as the engines of the jeeps and ambulance fractured the drowsy silence and the vehicles in the rear began driving away backward.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
In point 16 of the X post, Karp wrote: "The culture almost snickers at Musk's interest in grand narrative, as if billionaires ought to simply stay in their lane of enriching themselves."
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026
No chuckles, no snickers, not even a cough.
From Salon ● Feb. 1, 2026
I can also explain why, despite the snickers and stares and perpetually blooming bruises, it’s still worth it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2025
So when I told my friends and family I had received an invitation to a hog farmers’ convention in Des Moines, the snickers were louder than the Tilt-A-Whirl at the recently concluded Iowa State Fair.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2023
Garrett snickers, and the Tweedle glares at me.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
The gullible may have stood in awe, but sophisticated travelers scoffed and snickered at the big egg, obviously laid by an ordinary ostrich.
From Slate ● Feb. 11, 2024
He snickered, “I’m out there in the South, and I’m like, ‘Come through.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2023
As the Akron Beacon Journal would note, the townsfolk snickered at the irony.
From Salon ● Feb. 28, 2023
I’m still waiting for that invite,” Laxalt snickered, speaking from a podium emblazoned with Trump’s name.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 9, 2022
Some of the Ares campers snickered, but I wasnt going to let anybody embarrass me into silence.
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
They’re even snickering at serious moments, distracting those around them and on stage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
There now seems to be a bit of snickering immaturity in the film’s garish period trappings, though the emotional acuity and empathetic consideration of even the most minor of characters still makes “Boogie Nights” remarkable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2025
But snickering and irreverence aside, the Milan native was also a towering figure — both influential and polarizing — who reshaped the Italian media and political landscape in his image.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 12, 2023
The words “Tom Holland” and “spoilers” can immediately illicit snickering.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 12, 2023
I heard the guys snickering as we filed into the locker room.
From "The Million Dollar Shot" by Dan Gutman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
