snip
Americanverb (used with object)
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snips,
present (3rd person singular)
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snipped,
past participle, past
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snipping
present participle
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to cut with a small, quick stroke, or a succession of such strokes, with scissors or the like.
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to remove or cut off (something) by or as by cutting in this manner.
to snip a rose.
verb (used without object)
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snips,
present (3rd person singular)
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snipped,
past participle, past
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snipping
present participle
noun
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snips
plural
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the act of snipping, as with scissors.
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a small cut made by snipping.
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a small piece snipped off.
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a small piece, bit, or amount of anything.
a snip of food.
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Informal. a small or insignificant person.
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Informal. a presumptuous or impertinent person.
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snips, small, strong hand shears used by sheet metal workers.
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British Informal. a bargain.
verb
noun
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the act of snipping
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the sound of scissors or shears closing
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Also called: snipping. a small piece of anything, esp one that has been snipped off
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a small cut made by snipping
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an informal word for bargain
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informal something easily done; cinch
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informal a small or insignificant person or thing, esp an irritating or insolent one
interjection
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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snipsimple
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snipssimple
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have snippedperfect
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has snippedperfect
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am snippingprogressive
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are snippingprogressive
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is snippingprogressive
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have been snippingperfect progressive
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has been snippingperfect progressive
Past
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snippedsimple
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had snippedperfect
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was snippingprogressive
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were snippingprogressive
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had been snippingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of snip
1550–60; origin uncertain; compare Dutch, Low German snippen to snip, catch, clip
Explanation
To snip is to cut with short, quick strokes, the way you'd snip your bangs in the mirror, or snip off a loose thread hanging from your jacket. A gardener snips dead blooms from a plant so new ones can grow, and a dog groomer carefully snips the hair covering your terrier's face so she can see where she's going. Snip is also a noun: "I saved a snip of the baby's hair to put in your scrapbook." The noun came first, initially meaning "a small piece of cut out cloth." In the 16th century, it was also a common nickname for a tailor.
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.
See Examples For:
Yet De Beers and other established firms have cashed in on those industry changes too, producing their own lab-grown versions at a snip of the price one would pay for natural diamonds.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
They are quick to snip losses and quick to take profits.
From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026
Artichoke Potato Salad, on the other hand, is ladies luncheon, serve in a pretty bowl, snip some fresh dill, bring on the flavor, bring on the texture, pizzaz-y potato salad.
From Salon ● May 9, 2024
Its forms include a strip that providers snip to make the needed dose.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2023
I look out the front window, past the dripping pink bougainvillea bush to the street, wishing Matilde would appear now and snip every last tie I have with these people.
From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau
While it has been directed with careful attention to shaping its emotional arc by Tim Jackson, “Two Strangers” might have amplified its charms with a few snips of the scissors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025
Between snips, stylist Mel Sharpe reflects on the game.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2025
The research showed that V8 snips one end of the PAR1 protein and awakens it.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 22, 2023
The scientists attached this tag to protein toxins and the gene-editing enzyme Cas9, a large molecular scissors that snips DNA at a location specified by a molecule that guides the scissors to the right place.
From Scientific American ● Mar. 29, 2023
There was a mat and a pillow in one corner and a shelf along one wall covered in coils of wire, tin snips, pliers, and little glass jars filled with sorted pieces of metal.
From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat
This may have been the most overt art-as-protest moment, showing dancers climbing sparking electrical poles, only to fall off and dangle by what looked like snipped wires.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2026
"We might get absolutely snipped," said Kyrgios, who lost to Djokovic in the only major final of his turbulent career at Wimbledon in 2022.
From BBC ● Dec. 30, 2024
Perhaps you feel sad that the life of your placenta was cut short, snipped from existence.
From Slate ● Sep. 7, 2024
To help regrow coral, branches of healthy coral must be snipped off and replanted somewhere else.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2024
I took the scissors out of the sewing basket in the kitchen and snipped the threads of the hem of my cloak.
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
They then lug heavy loads back home, spreading the seaweed out on the ground and snipping off residue.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
"But if we can do gene therapy that doesn't involve snipping DNA strands, then we avoid these potential pitfalls."
From Science Daily ● Jan. 5, 2026
Toni Yoakam, who founded the World Wide Weight Pull Organization, recalls the owner of a 3.5-pound miniature poodle snipping pompoms off her pooch’s feet and ears to get her to 3 pounds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025
Instead of trying to pick though New Zealand's defence, he twice dropped into the pocket and landed smart drop-goals inside three minutes, snipping the lead to a single point by the break.
From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2025
To make hybrids, Mendel had to first neuter each flower by snipping off the anthers—emasculating it—and then transfer the orange blush of pollen from one flower to another.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
