snigger
Americanverb (used with or without object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sniggersimple
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sniggerssimple
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have sniggeredperfect
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has sniggeredperfect
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am sniggeringprogressive
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are sniggeringprogressive
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is sniggeringprogressive
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have been sniggeringperfect progressive
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has been sniggeringperfect progressive
Past
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sniggeredsimple
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had sniggeredperfect
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was sniggeringprogressive
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were sniggeringprogressive
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had been sniggeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of snigger
C18: variant of snicker
Explanation
To snigger is to laugh scornfully, especially when you're trying to hide the fact that you're laughing. Kids might snigger when the biggest show-off in class falls over backward in his seat. You can generally use the verbs snigger and snicker interchangeably. They both mean "to snort with partially suppressed laughter," and both imply a sense of superiority or scorn. You're most likely to snigger at someone when they're being ridiculous or foolish. Experts guess that both versions of this word are imitative in origin.
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:
You may snigger that the fluffy haired and sequin-loving singer-songwriter is a cheesy anti-poet, fixating on such mortal lines as “No one heard at all, not even the chair.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 24, 2025
Large parts of the rest of the world would snigger at that.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 28, 2022
"The name Shag makes people snigger but a shag is a seabird who has to fight for survival against impossible odds. That's very appropriate for Happisburgh."
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2022
As the great Irish commentator Fintan O’Toole has written, that carries “an unpardonable snigger of elite condescension.”
From Washington Post ● Nov. 10, 2020
As she reached for her last arrow, she heard one of the competitors, a red-haired mercenary named Renault, snigger.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
Australia is yet to see the best of Smith – he averages 23.16 against them from six one-day internationals - and any suggestions he is Gilchrist's heir will be met by sniggers down under.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2025
This confounded the soothsayers, and thereby insured that any professional predictions as to the result of today’s vote, a year later, have been met with sniggers of disbelief.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 23, 2016
Then there was Jared Leto in a Givenchy suit that largely got the thumbs-up, but was hardly enough to buffer him from the sniggers about his striking resemblance to a certain biblical character.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2016
A: So imagine showing up at your new office, introducing yourself around, and ignoring the startled looks and sniggers when it turns out your name means “Large Bottom” in the local parlance.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2015
“Yes, well, he passed the second time,” said Mrs. Weasley, marching back into the kitchen amid hearty sniggers.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
Earlier in the inquest, a witness statement said that Alan Derry had a "mocking and unpleasant tone" and "sniggered loudly" in a meeting.
From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2023
Some people exchanged pleasantries, while others darted their eyes and quietly sniggered.
From Reuters ● Feb. 3, 2022
Making a real-life supervillain into someone to be sniggered at instead of feared or scorned helps along the process of national healing that follows the relief of aggression Maltin mentioned.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 16, 2019
Earlier, Sugar sniggered as the tribunal was played clips of the TV show, in which he is described as "Britain's most belligerent boss".
From The Guardian ● Mar. 5, 2013
“Mum, d’you honestly think You-Know-Who’s going to be hiding behind a bookshelf in Flourish and Blotts?” sniggered Ron.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
No sniggering jokes now about princely flings and sulky princesses and body doubles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2024
But it’s not the ’90s until two of the most idiotic teenagers return, sniggering along the way.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 26, 2023
Now look here, we will not tolerate any jokes about this one, so stop sniggering at the back.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2023
"Not long ago, they called him 'too extreme,' 'aggressively and dangerously wrong' and 'downright dangerous,'" Baker wrote in sniggering prose.
From Salon ● Jan. 30, 2020
But I dread it because it means having to see Karly and Sal, too, smirking and gossiping and sniggering at everyone behind their hands.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
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.
