snicker
Americanverb (used without object)
-
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
-
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
-
snickersimple
-
snickerssimple
-
have snickeredperfect
-
has snickeredperfect
-
am snickeringprogressive
-
are snickeringprogressive
-
is snickeringprogressive
-
have been snickeringperfect progressive
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has been snickeringperfect progressive
Past
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snickeredsimple
-
had snickeredperfect
-
was snickeringprogressive
-
were snickeringprogressive
-
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:
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
If your first instinct, like mine, is to snicker, know that this self-important drama is devoid of humor.
From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2023
He nudges the white guy with them, and they both snicker.
From "Dear Martin" by Nic Stone
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
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
But while the issue can generate snickers from some in Congress, serious lawmakers in both parties think it’s crucial for national security to figure out what these phenomena are — and where they’re coming from.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2023
That threat was greeted with snickers of laughter.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 11, 2023
I forgot that there were people behind and around me until I heard a few snickers and a scattering of claps, but I didn’t care.
From "Homesick" by Jean Fritz
In calling the race for Pennsylvania’s 8th congressional district for Democratic Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, Maddow couldn’t resist calling her Republican opponent, Rob Bresnahan, a “sometime ghost hunter” as her colleagues snickered in the background.
From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2026
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
I’m still waiting for that invite,” Laxalt snickered, speaking from a podium emblazoned with Trump’s name.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 9, 2022
"Except you don't smell as good as a flower. In fact, you stink," Shyam, the new class bully, told her, and his friend Srikant snickered.
From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman
And Ms. Bioh has the girls’ attitudes to her take an implausibly abrupt turn from sycophancy to snickering mockery when Ericka exposes the hollowness of her pretensions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
“No, I’m not,” says Emma Stone, failing to stay exactly stone-faced while pointing at a snickering Yorgos Lanthimos: “He thinks that I’m …”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2026
I wasn’t the only one: A small contingency of the audience at the Samuel J. Friedman Theater started snickering and laughing before he had even fully stepped onstage.
From New York Times ● Nov. 13, 2023
Crystal and Taylor Probst, the wife and the daughter of cyclist Andreas Probst, said they saw Jesus Ayala and Jzamir Keys snickering to each other and making vulgar gestures toward them before Tuesday’s hearing.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 29, 2023
Folks are either staring at their feet or snickering.
From "Towers Falling" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
