sniper
Britishnoun
Explanation
A soldier or police officer who specializes in shooting a gun very accurately from far away is a sniper. The U.S. Army has a special sniper school for training soldiers. Sometimes criminal shooters are described as snipers, especially if they shoot at people from a hidden spot. However, this word most often means "trained marksman," especially someone who's trained in the armed forces or by law enforcement, like a member of a SWAT team. Sniper comes from the less-common verb snipe, "shoot birds from a hidden place," from the noun snipe, "long-billed marsh bird."
Vocabulary lists containing sniper
"The Sniper" by Liam O’Flaherty
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Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom
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Because of Mr. Terupt
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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.
If the team had invested any actual energy into brainstorming this entry, they’d have played paintball with a sniper drone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Several Ukrainian brigades said that they use the traditional sniper less.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
The Charlotte Hornets’ sniper is the breakout star of his draft class.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
Attorney General Janet Reno decided not to pursue charges, but a county prosecutor in the state did, charging the sniper with involuntary manslaughter.
From Slate ● Jan. 7, 2026
One might expect that I, being at that time perfectly innocent of any crime against either Bunny or humanity, would not myself be a target of this ongoing sniper fire.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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.
