snifter

[ snif-ter ]
See synonyms for snifter on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Also called inhaler. a pear-shaped glass, narrowing at the top to intensify the aroma of brandy, liqueur, etc.

  2. Informal. a very small drink of liquor.

Origin of snifter

1
1840–50; derivative of snifter to sniff, snivel, Middle English snyfter; imitative

Words Nearby snifter

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use snifter in a sentence

  • Strain into a chilled snifter glass, rimmed with smoked-chipotle dust.

    Lights, Camera, Cocktails | Brody Brown | July 29, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • But picking up the sail in other blows and picking it up in a Cape Horn snifter is a horse of another color.

    The Viking Blood | Frederick William Wallace
  • The first of the telegrams arrived shortly after noon, and Jeeves brought it in with the before-luncheon snifter.

    Right Ho, Jeeves | P. G. Wodehouse
  • At sunset he quit, easy winner, and went without taking so much as a "snifter."

  • For the love of goodness, Fritz, give me a snifter of tanglefoot!

    Frank Merriwell's Backers | Burt L. Standish

British Dictionary definitions for snifter

snifter

/ (ˈsnɪftə) /


noun
  1. a pear-shaped glass with a short stem and a bowl that narrows towards the top so that the aroma of brandy or a liqueur is retained

  2. informal a small quantity of alcoholic drink

Origin of snifter

1
C19: perhaps from dialect snifter to sniff, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Danish snifta (obsolete) to sniff

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