snooze
Americanverb (used without object)
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
snoozesimple
-
snoozessimple
-
have snoozedperfect
-
has snoozedperfect
-
am snoozingprogressive
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are snoozingprogressive
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is snoozingprogressive
-
have been snoozingperfect progressive
-
has been snoozingperfect progressive
Past
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snoozedsimple
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had snoozedperfect
-
was snoozingprogressive
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were snoozingprogressive
-
had been snoozingperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
That may be a nice lesson to learn, but it’s a real snooze to watch.
From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2026
That’s no big deal if you’re going to binge movies or TV shows for hours or snooze the flight away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
"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
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
I want to tell her that I never hit snooze.
From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King
If kids can grow out of their pretend pals, so too can horror audiences of cynical snoozes like this.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 7, 2024
Whether you are growing fresh greens, scallions or herbs, you can add some novelty and nutrition to your winter meals while staying connected to nature as the outdoor garden snoozes.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 13, 2022
In Rest Mode, the ring snoozes your activity goals and readjusts your scores to prioritize recovery.
From The Verge ● Nov. 10, 2021
As the N.C.A.A. tournament rages in the foreground, the N.B.A. generally snoozes its way into April, with only about a dozen games remaining on each team’s schedule.
From New York Times ● Mar. 20, 2017
Alex points at Cocoa as she snoozes in my lap.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
A family of four adults on vacation happily snoozed in their pods with eye masks on.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
I snoozed, and I lost: Not only did I not snag a seat in the actual courtroom, but the media-overflow room was the most packed it’s been the entire trial.
From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2023
Friendly, retriever-like Rainbow, surrendered by someone who could not care for him, snoozed in the adoption office.
From Seattle Times ● May 7, 2023
“Brink’s snoozed and their customers lose — they should be the ones putting up the reward, not the victims, who have been wiped out,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2022
No cars traveled the roads, no creatures howled or sniffed or chuffed, and the wind, a constant in the cornfields of Illinois, pulled in on itself and snoozed like a cat.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
It was 8:30 a.m., and most of the ship’s 4,000 passengers were still snoozing or filling their plates at the breakfast buffet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
I climbed down a ladder to find my husband and 5-year-old daughter still snoozing in the lower bunk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2024
Semi-feral, Pebbles now prefers snoozing in the library to hunting, the university said.
From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2024
A lie-down could involve reading or snoozing or just contemplating the world outside the window.
From New York Times ● Feb. 17, 2024
I see a bear snoozing in a hollow log.
From "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate
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.
