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Synonyms

snook

1 American  
[snook, snook] / snuk, snʊk /

noun

plural

snook,

plural

snooks

  1. any basslike fish of the genus Centropomus, especially C. undecimalis, inhabiting waters off Florida and the West Indies and south to Brazil, valued as food and game.

  2. any of several related marine fishes.

snook 2 American  
[snook, snook] / snʊk, snuk /

noun

  1. a gesture of defiance, disrespect, or derision.

idioms

  1. cock a / one's snook, to thumb the nose: Also cock a snoot.

    a painter who cocks a snook at traditional techniques.
snook 1 British  
/ snuːk /

noun

    1. to make a rude gesture by putting one thumb to the nose with the fingers of the hand outstretched

    2. to show contempt by being insulting or offensive

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
snook 2 British  
/ snuːk /

noun

  1. any of several large game fishes of the genus Centropomus, esp C. undecimalis of tropical American marine and fresh waters: family Centropomidae (robalos)

  2. the sea pike Australuzza novaehollandiae

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of snook1

First recorded in 1690–1700, snook is from the Dutch word snoek

Origin of snook2

First recorded in 1875–80; origin uncertain

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.

Bigger fish — jacks, snook — were swimming in spirals or upside down in the shallow waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.

From New York Times • Apr. 15, 2024

Setting out into the Gulf of Mexico in threes and fours, fishermen returned with buckets of tarpon and long, streaked snook.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 13, 2023

From Indigenous fisheries to commercial operations, snook have been celebrated as a high-quality river fish since the time of Mayan rule, making river fisheries in Mexico important for food, Pease said.

From Science Daily • Nov. 28, 2023

Fish vary in their omega-3 levels and generally the fishier they taste the more omega-3 fats they have — such as tuna, salmon, deep sea perch, trevally, mackeral and snook.

From Salon • Sep. 25, 2023

Gill nets were outlawed years ago in Florida because they kill everything that gets tangled, not just the baitfish but sharks, reds, snook, tarpon, turtles—you name it, it dies.

From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen

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.