snot

American  

[snot] / snɒt /

noun

1. Vulgar. mucus from the nose.

2. Informal. a disrespectful or supercilious person.

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snot British  

/ snɒt /

noun

1. nasal mucus or discharge

2. slang a contemptible person

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Etymology

Origin of snot

1350–1400; Middle English; compare Middle Low German, Middle Dutch snotte, Old English gesnot, Danish snot

Explanation

Snot is the discharge that comes from your nose when you have a bad cold. You'll want to carry tissues or a handkerchief with you when you're sneezing, to keep the snot contained. There are two meanings of the noun snot: the first, mucus, can be unpleasant. The second meaning, an irritatingly arrogant person, is also unpleasant. If a little kid acts like a snot, his babysitter is definitely not going to let him stay up past his bedtime. If you're a snot to your best friend, she might not speak to you the next day. Snot comes from the Old English word gesnot, or "nasal mucus," from a Germanic root.

Example Sentences

And who can forget Kenny Everett's Snot Rap, a cloth-eared rant about hip-hop lyrics, memorable only for the line: "You can chuck in the word circumcision/ 'Cos we ain't going to Eurovision."

From BBC • Nov. 25, 2022

For starters, no one was wearing a mask, not even the cook, a man with a clubfoot who went by the name Snot.

From New York Times • Feb. 20, 2021

The older one and I visited the local library to get educational books such as Why Is Snot Green?.

From The Guardian • Apr. 4, 2020

The other is called Snot Nose Glasses and has a plastic blob hanging off it.

From Washington Post • Aug. 10, 2016

Snot runs down from his nose into his mouth.

From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na