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definitions

snicker

[snik-er]
See more synonyms for snicker on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object)
  1. to laugh in a half-suppressed, indecorous or disrespectful manner.
verb (used with object)
  1. to utter with a snicker.
noun
  1. a snickering laugh.
Also snigger.

Origin of snicker

First recorded in 1685–95; of expressive orig.
Related formssnick·er·ing·ly, adverb
Can be confusedsneaker snicker
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for snickered

sneer, smirk, chortle, chuckle, giggle, knock, guffaw, snigger, titter, mock, hee-haw, sniggle

Examples from the Web for snickered

Contemporary Examples of snickered

  • “Sorry, David Sirota, Looks Like Boston Bombing Suspects Not White Americans,” snickered a headline in Newsbusters.

    The Daily Beast logo
    Are The Tsarnaevs White?

    Peter Beinart

    April 24, 2013

  • I know that some of you are appalled, and that some of you snickered.

    The Daily Beast logo
    Dwarf Tossing Should Be Illegal

    Bill Klein

    October 23, 2011

Historical Examples of snickered

  • Boche and Bibi-the-Smoker snickered at the nudes, pointing them out to each other and winking.

    L'Assommoir

    Emile Zola

  • The clerk laughed, and the bell-boys standing about snickered.

    Sunny Boy in the Big City

    Ramy Allison White

  • He shook and snickered with anticipation of the glory of it.

    Eben Holden

    Irving Bacheller

  • "All right; an' I'll do th' laughing," snickered Hopalong, at the door.

  • Miss Mercy snickered in appreciation of the cleverness of her manœuvre.

    The Dude Wrangler

    Caroline Lockhart

British Dictionary definitions for snickered

snicker

noun
  1. mainly US and Canadian a sly or disrespectful laugh, esp one partly stifled
verb
  1. to utter such a laughEquivalent term (in Britain and certain other countries): snigger
  2. (of a horse) to whinny

Word Origin for snicker

C17: probably of imitative origin
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 snickered

snicker

v.

1690s, possibly of imitative origin, similar to Dutch snikken "to gasp, sob." Related: Snickered; snickering.

snicker

n.

"a smothered laugh," 1835, from snicker (v.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper