snippet
Americannoun
-
a small piece snipped off; a small bit, scrap, or fragment.
an anthology of snippets.
-
Informal. a small or insignificant person.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of snippet
Explanation
A snippet is a tiny piece. You might only have time to read a snippet of "Moby Dick" before your early English class — just enough to know it's a book about a whale. While a snippet can be a literal fragment of something, like a snippet of hair clipped off the end of your dog's tail, the word is often used to talk about less physical bits. You may get a snippet of information by watching TV news with the sound turned off, or end your writing workshop with just a snippet of an idea for your screenplay. It comes from snip, with its Low German root snippen, "to snip or shred."
Vocabulary lists containing snippet
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
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The Breadwinner
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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.
Baboon Snippet update: Male baboon's vasectomy delayed from today 4 one day.
From The Guardian • Feb. 26, 2020
Snippet from a parking-lot exchange between Tiger Woods and NBC’s Roger Maltbie, in an uncussessful attempt to score a pre-round interview:
From Seattle Times • Aug. 23, 2019
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Snippet of letter from Amanda Kimbrough Photograph: Courtesy of Amanda Kimbrough Five weeks later, she began having difficulties with her pregnancy.
From The Guardian • Oct. 7, 2015
"Wish I'd been born with all the learnin' in me," scoffed Snippet.
From Sigurd Our Golden Collie and Other Comrades of the Road by Bates, Katharine Lee
"I'm seven," blustered Snippet, "and I think I'd be eight by now, if I hadn't had the measles."
From Sigurd Our Golden Collie and Other Comrades of the Road by Bates, Katharine Lee
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.
