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• snow
  snow

  noun

  precipitation in the form of ice crystals, mainly of intricately branched, hexagonal form and often agglomerated into snowflakes, formed directly from the freezing of the water vapor in the air.
• Snow
  Snow

  noun

  Sir Charles Percy C. P. Snow, 1905–80, English novelist and scientist.

snow

¹ American  

[snoh] / snoʊ /

noun

1. Meteorology. precipitation in the form of ice crystals, mainly of intricately branched, hexagonal form and often agglomerated into snowflakes, formed directly from the freezing of the water vapor in the air.

2. these flakes as forming a layer on the ground or other surface.

3. the fall of these flakes or a storm during which these flakes fall.

4. something resembling a layer of these flakes in whiteness, softness, or the like.

   the snow of fresh linen.

5. Literary.

   1. white blossoms.

   2. the white color of snow.

6. Slang. cocaine or heroin.

7. Informal. Usually snows snow tires.

   Most people up here keep their snows on through the end of April.

8. white spots or bands on a television screen caused by a weak signal.

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verb (used without object)

1. to send down snow; fall as snow.

2. to descend like snow.

verb (used with object)

1. to let fall as or like snow.

2. Slang.

   1. to make an overwhelming impression on.

      The view really snowed them.

   2. to persuade or deceive.

      She was snowed into believing everything.

verb phrase

1. snow under

   1. to cover with or bury in snow.

   2. to overwhelm with a larger amount of something than can be conveniently dealt with.

   3. to defeat overwhelmingly.

Snow ² American  

[snoh] / snoʊ /

noun

1. Sir Charles Percy C. P. Snow, 1905–80, English novelist and scientist.

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snow ¹ British  

/ snəʊ /

noun

1. precipitation from clouds in the form of flakes of ice crystals formed in the upper atmosphere

2. a layer of snowflakes on the ground

3. a fall of such precipitation

4. anything resembling snow in whiteness, softness, etc

5. the random pattern of white spots on a television or radar screen, produced by noise in the receiver and occurring when the signal is weak or absent

6. slang cocaine

7. See carbon dioxide snow

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verb

1. (intr; with it as subject) to be the case that snow is falling

2. (tr; usually passive, foll by over, under, in, or up) to cover or confine with a heavy fall of snow

3. to fall or cause to fall as or like snow

4. slang (tr) to deceive or overwhelm with elaborate often insincere talk See snow job

5. to be overwhelmed, esp with paperwork

Snow ² British  

/ snəʊ /

noun

1. C ( harles ) P ( ercy ), Baron. 1905–80, British novelist and physicist. His novels include the series Strangers and Brothers (1949–70)

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snow Scientific  

/ snō /

1. Precipitation that falls to earth in the form of ice crystals that have complex branched hexagonal patterns. Snow usually falls from stratus and stratocumulus clouds, but it can also fall from cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds.

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snow Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing snow

• pure as the driven snow

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Other Word Forms

• snowless
  adjective
• snowlike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of snow¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun snou(e), Old English snāw; cognate with Dutch sneeuw, German Schnee, Old Norse snǣr, Gothic snaiws, Latin nix (genitive nivis ), Greek níps (accusative nípha ), Old Church Slavonic sněgŭ; verb derivative of the noun

Origin of Snow²

First recorded in 1665–75

Explanation

The fluffy white precipitation that falls from the sky in the winter is snow. Many winter sports, like skiing and sledding, require snow. Scientifically, snow is water vapor that freezes and forms ice crystals. You probably think of snow as the cold white stuff that can be formed into balls and thrown. Snow is a verb, too: "I love to watch it snow." Informally, to snow is also to hide your motives in order to trick someone: "She planned to snow her sister into thinking the cookies were all gone."

Example Sentences

In previous seasons—except when the crab population had absolutely collapsed—the objective was Alaskan king crab or snow crab.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

In this case, the system reached tropical storm-force winds and generated snow and even thunderstorms near its center.

From Science Daily • May 6, 2026

"Fresh snow on the mountains, autumn colours along the shoreline and even some amazing wildlife," Rosmarin, his voice brimming with excitement, told followers in a video posted several weeks ago.

From BBC • May 5, 2026

And in February, as snow melted around the “No Industrial Solar” signs that stud the long country roads, a circuit court judge ruled that St. Clair County’s health regulation is “invalid, null, and void.”

From Salon • Apr. 27, 2026

His fur was so thick that the snow lay on top of it without even melting.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

Related Words

• blizzard
• snowstorm