snipe
Americannoun
plural
snipes,plural
snipe-
Also snite any of several long-billed game birds of the genera Gallinago (sometimesCapella ) and Limnocryptes, inhabiting marshy areas, as G. gallinago common snipe, orwhole snipe, of Eurasia and North America, having barred and striped white, brown, and black plumage.
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any of several other long-billed birds, as some sandpipers.
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a shot, usually from a hidden position.
verb (used without object)
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to shoot or hunt snipe.
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to shoot at individuals as opportunity offers from a concealed or distant position.
The enemy was sniping from the roofs.
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to attack a person or a person's work with petulant or snide criticism, especially anonymously or from a safe distance.
noun
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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
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any of various similar related birds, such as certain sandpipers and curlews
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a shot, esp a gunshot, fired from a place of concealment
verb
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to attack (a person or persons) with a rifle from a place of concealment
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to criticize adversely a person or persons from a position of security
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(intr) to hunt or shoot snipe
Other Word Forms
- countersniper noun
- snipelike adjective
- sniper noun
Etymology
Origin of snipe
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English snype (noun), from Old Norse -snīpa (in mȳrisnīpa “moor snipe”); cognate with Norwegian snipa, Icelandic snīpa; compare Danish sneppe, German Schnepfe
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 elected, she pledged to have "difficult conversations" with the leadership, while refusing to "snipe from the sidelines".
From BBC • Oct. 2, 2025
Vance’s snipe at “cat ladies” wasn’t Swift’s introduction to right-wing weirdness.
From Slate • Aug. 6, 2025
For the first five episodes, Ava and Deborah snipe and jab at each other while struggling to keep the show they’ve worked so hard to secure on the air.
From Salon • May 9, 2025
Birds that will be renamed include those currently called Wilson’s warbler and Wilson’s snipe, both named after the 19th century naturalist Alexander Wilson.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 1, 2023
"How easy it is to snipe after the fact, to apply the knowledge we have now to the events of 1993," he wrote.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
