verb
noun
Other Word Forms
- snoozer noun
- snoozy adjective
Etymology
Origin of snooze
First recorded in 1780–90; origin uncertain
Explanation
When you snooze, you take a quick nap during the day. Nobody snoozes for too long though, because then you’d just call it "sleeping." Maybe you’ve fallen asleep in class before, dozed off while watching a movie, or snoozed for a minute while learning some new vocabulary. Wake up, sleepyhead! Snoozing is a light type of sleep, probably without dreams even. If you like reading at the beach, make sure you’re wearing sunscreen in case you snooze off.
Vocabulary lists containing snooze
The Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer
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"Pitch Perfect," Vocabulary from the movie
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Festival of Sleep Day
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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.
"We were not able and not willing, once again, to push the snooze button on this… it was a huge step for Germany, a huge step for the German population, definitely."
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026
We picture an idealized version of ourselves—disciplined, virtuous, rising at dawn—rather than the empirical version that hits the snooze button.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 30, 2025
Potentially fascinating subject matter, no doubt, but also a snooze, Nile tells Aggie.
From Salon • Nov. 19, 2025
The Fed meeting was expected to be something of a snooze, with many predicting that earnings would again overshadow the central bank.
From Barron's • Oct. 29, 2025
All three of us were relaxed by now and ready for a long snooze.
From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins
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.
