snipe
[snahyp]
- any of several long-billed game birds of the genera Gallinago (Capella) and Limnocryptes, inhabiting marshy areas, as G. gallinago (common snipe), of Eurasia and North America, having barred and striped white, brown, and black plumage.
- any of several other long-billed birds, as some sandpipers.
- a shot, usually from a hidden position.
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- to shoot or hunt snipe.
- to shoot at individuals as opportunity offers from a concealed or distant position: The enemy was sniping from the roofs.
- to attack a person or a person's work with petulant or snide criticism, especially anonymously or from a safe distance.
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Origin of snipe
1275–1325; Middle English snype (noun) < Old Norse -snīpa (in mȳrisnīpa moor snipe); cognate with Norwegian snipa, Icelandic snīpa; compare Danish sneppe, German Schnepfe
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for sniped
Contemporary Examples
Away from the battlefield, the two groups have sniped at one another online.
Historical Examples
They believed a few fellows had "sniped" at them; that was all.
The Story of the Malakand Field ForceSir Winston S. Churchill
He might have sniped the guards anyway, but he had it easier.
The Affair of the BrainsAnthony Gilmore
If you are sniped, push on; but if opposed in force, do your best, only let me know.
On the Heels of De WetThe Intelligence Officer
The enemy, on his part, sniped at and bombed our patrols at night.
I just got sniped when I was out, at night, with a wiring party, he said hurriedly.
The Rough RoadWilliam John Locke
snipe
- any of various birds of the genus Gallinago (or Capella) and related genera, such as G. gallinago (common or Wilson's snipe), of marshes and river banks, having a long straight bill: family Scolopacidae (sandpipers, etc), order Charadriiformes
- any of various similar related birds, such as certain sandpipers and curlews
- a shot, esp a gunshot, fired from a place of concealment
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- (when intr, often foll by at) to attack (a person or persons) with a rifle from a place of concealment
- (intr often foll by at) to criticize adversely a person or persons from a position of security
- (intr) to hunt or shoot snipe
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Word Origin
C14: from Old Norse snīpa; related to Old High German snepfa Middle Dutch snippe
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for sniped
snipe
n.
long-billed marsh bird, early 14c., from Old Norse -snipa in myrisnipa "moor snipe;" perhaps a common Germanic term (cf. Old Saxon sneppa, Middle Dutch snippe, Dutch snip, Old High German snepfa, German Schnepfe "snipe," Swedish snäppa "sandpiper"), perhaps originally "snipper." The Old English name was snite, which is of uncertain derivation. An opprobrious term (cf. guttersnipe) since c.1600.
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snipe
v.
"shoot from a hidden place," 1773 (among British soldiers in India), in reference to hunting snipe as game, from snipe (n.). Figurative use from 1892. Related: Sniped; sniping.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper