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snicker

[snik-er]
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verb (used without object)
  1. to laugh in a half-suppressed, indecorous or disrespectful manner.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to utter with a snicker.
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noun
  1. a snickering laugh.
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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

Examples from the Web for snickered

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • 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
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verb
  1. to utter such a laughEquivalent term (in Britain and certain other countries): snigger
  2. (of a horse) to whinny
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Word Origin

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.

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snicker

n.

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper