snicker
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
noun
verb
-
Equivalent term (in Britain and certain other countries): snigger. to utter such a laugh
-
(of a horse) to whinny
Other Word Forms
- snickeringly adverb
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.
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
McCurry never belittled anyone, though occasionally the Bigfoot questions would cause other reporters to snicker.
From Salon • Oct. 24, 2025
And if it was easy to snicker at “Avatar’s” hippy-dippy sincerity, it was also easy to surrender to its multiplex transcendentalism, its world of synthetically crafted natural wonders.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 13, 2022
I called out, too loudly, drawing another snicker from the audience.
From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood
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.
