snipe

[snahyp]

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noun, plural snipes, (especially collectively) snipe for 1, 2.

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.

verb (used without object), sniped, snip·ing.

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.

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

Related formssnipe·like, adjectivesnip·er, nouncoun·ter·snip·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for sniped

quip, taunt, ridicule, scoff, hoot, sneer, snipe, purloin, pilfer, embezzle, gibe, banter, dig, flout, hector, deride, jest, comeback, contemn, jab

Examples from the Web for sniped

Contemporary Examples of sniped

Away from the battlefield, the two groups have sniped at one another online.
Even a Top Democrat Thinks Obama's Legal Case for War Makes No Sense
Eli Lake
September 19, 2014

Historical Examples of sniped

They believed a few fellows had "sniped" at them; that was all.
The Story of the Malakand Field Force
Sir Winston S. Churchill
He might have sniped the guards anyway, but he had it easier.
The Affair of the Brains
Anthony Gilmore
If you are sniped, push on; but if opposed in force, do your best, only let me know.
On the Heels of De Wet
The Intelligence Officer
The enemy, on his part, sniped at and bombed our patrols at night.
The Story of the 2/4th Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
G. K. Rose
I just got sniped when I was out, at night, with a wiring party, he said hurriedly.
The Rough Road
William John Locke

British Dictionary definitions for sniped

snipe

noun plural snipe or snipes

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

verb

(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

Derived Formssnipelike, adjective

Word Origin for snipe

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for sniped

snipe

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.

snipe

"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.