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.
The author of the memoir “The Red Circle” and “The Killing School: Inside the World’s Deadliest Sniper Program,” never imagined he’d write a parenting book.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026
Atomfall is the latest release from Oxford-based Rebellion, best known for its long-running Sniper Elite series.
From BBC • Mar. 26, 2025
Mawhinney, who attended Camp Pendleton’s Scout Sniper School, made the kills during a 16-month period that began in early 1968, when he was fighting the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 18, 2024
"Unflinching: The Making of a Canadian Sniper" is also described as raw; unflinching's in the title.
From Salon • Nov. 1, 2022
Gold Star and Merry Monarch were racing together in good positions; so were Orbit and Curlew; while Sniper was at the tail end of the field.
From The Rider in Khaki A Novel by Gould, Nat
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.
