snip

[ snip ]

/ snɪp /

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See synonyms for: snip / snips on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), snipped, snip·ping.

to cut with a small, quick stroke, or a succession of such strokes, with scissors or the like.

to remove or cut off (something) by or as by cutting in this manner: to snip a rose.

verb (used without object), snipped, snip·ping.

to cut with small, quick strokes.

noun

the act of snipping, as with scissors.

a small cut made by snipping.

a small piece snipped off.

a small piece, bit, or amount of anything: a snip of food.

Informal. a small or insignificant person.

Informal. a presumptuous or impertinent person.

snips, small, strong hand shears used by sheet metal workers.

British Informal. a bargain.

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Origin of snip

1550–60; origin uncertain; compare Dutch, Low German snippen to snip, catch, clip

OTHER WORDS FROM snip

un·snipped, adjective

Words nearby snip

snig, snigger, snigging chain, sniggle, sniglet, snip, snipe, snipefish, snipe fly, sniper, sniperscope

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use snip in a sentence

I’ll undergo a ceremonial snip at the ends but keep the length.
My Son Knows Exactly How He'll Mark the Occasion of Getting His COVID-19 Vaccine|Vanessa Hua|November 3, 2021|Time
Windows used to have Snipping Tool, but that’s now part of Snip & Sketch.
How to save important photos and video from the web|John Kennedy|January 19, 2021|Popular-Science
We had a little goose that was laying golden eggs, and they told us to snip its head off.
David Lynch on Transcendental Meditation, ‘Twin Peaks,’ and Collaborating With Kanye West|Marlow Stern|October 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If you ever put your hands on me again, I'm gonna snip your little nuts off with my toenail clippers!
Jenny Lewis on 'The Voyager,' the End of Rilo Kiley, and High School Classmate Angelina Jolie|Marlow Stern|August 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST

This is a debate over how much personal autonomy we give to children—and the implications go beyond a single snip.
Do Circumcision Bans Protect Kids’ Rights, Or Infringe Upon Parents’?|Michael Schulson|February 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A disgusting snip of a person had moved between him and those bitter but glamorous memories of Maria Algarez.
The Boy Grew Older|Heywood Broun
Accustomed to bite and eat its way through hard leaves, why did not the insect snip off and destroy its rope?
The Hills and the Vale|Richard Jefferies
As it is, though, I believe I could snip a curl off the baby's head an' hardly scare the darlin'.
Harper's Round Table, October 1, 1895|Various
But the naughty baby only laughed quite merrily over the howl, and the two children begged of Snip-snap to do it again.
Dickory Dock|L. T. Meade
Still, if you promise to breathe not a word of this to any woman I may marry hereafter, here's a dead snip for you.
Punch, Or The London Charivari, Vol. 146., January 14, 1914|Various

British Dictionary definitions for snip

snip

/ (snɪp) /

verb snips, snipping or snipped

to cut or clip with a small quick stroke or a succession of small quick strokes, esp with scissors or shears

noun

the act of snipping

the sound of scissors or shears closing

Also called: snipping a small piece of anything, esp one that has been snipped off

a small cut made by snipping

mainly British an informal word for bargain

informal something easily done; cinch

US and Canadian informal a small or insignificant person or thing, esp an irritating or insolent one

interjection

(often reiterated) a representation of the sound of scissors or shears closing

Word Origin for snip

C16: from Low German, Dutch snippen; related to Middle High German snipfen to snap the fingers

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

snip

Origin of snip

OTHER WORDS FROM snip

Words nearby snip

Words related to snip

How to use snip in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for snip

Word Origin for snip