Top Definitions
Quiz
Related Content
Examples
British
Scientific
Idioms And Phrases

snow

[ snoh ]

/ snoʊ /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for snow on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.Compare ice crystals, snow grains, snow pellets.

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

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

something resembling a layer of these flakes in whiteness, softness, or the like: the snow of fresh linen.

Literary.

white blossoms.
the white color of snow.

Slang. cocaine or heroin.

Usually snows .Informal. snow tires: Most people up here keep their snows on through the end of April.

white spots or bands on a television screen caused by a weak signal.Compare hash¹ (def. 5).

verb (used without object)

to send down snow; fall as snow.

to descend like snow.

verb (used with object)

to let fall as or like snow.

Slang.

to make an overwhelming impression on: The view really snowed them.
to persuade or deceive: She was snowed into believing everything.

Verb Phrases

snow under,

to cover with or bury in snow.
to overwhelm with a larger amount of something than can be conveniently dealt with.
to defeat overwhelmingly.

VIDEO FOR SNOW

What Is The Difference Between "Weather" vs. "Climate"?

Although there is a wealth of scientific evidence, the difference between weather and climate can be difficult to understand. But all hope is not lost—we're here to help you learn the difference.

MORE VIDEOS FROM DICTIONARY.COM

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of snow

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

OTHER WORDS FROM snow

snow·less, adjectivesnow·like, adjective

Words nearby snow

snot-rag, snotter, snotty, snout, snout beetle, snow, snow apple, snowball, snowball bush, snowball tree, snowbank

Other definitions for snow (2 of 2)

Snow

[ snoh ]

/ snoʊ /

noun

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

Origin of Snow

First recorded in 1665–75

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use snow in a sentence

Even I learned some new bits, such as the glorious aside Baggott drily delivers that Francis Bacon died from pneumonia that he contracted from stuffing a dead chicken with snow to see if it would preserve it.
Your Guide to the Many Meanings of Quantum Mechanics - Facts So Romantic|Sabine Hossenfelder|September 3, 2020|Nautilus
The slim, 1-inch body fits easily in a pocket, and with an IP rating of 68, the light won’t let you down in rain, sleet, or snow.
Flashlights for emergency scenarios and outdoor fun|PopSci Commerce Team|August 27, 2020|Popular-Science
Spring arrived, as always in the Kashmir Valley, with melting snow and blossoming chinar trees.
How India became the world’s leader in internet shutdowns|Katie McLean|August 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review
His graduate research focused on the glacially carved lakes surrounding California’s Mount Shasta — a setting that gave Priscu, after a childhood in the Mojave Desert, full-on exposure to snow and ice.
He Found ‘Islands of Fertility’ Beneath Antarctica’s Ice|Steve Nadis|July 20, 2020|Quanta Magazine

Bright snow and ice reflect much of the incoming radiation from the sun.
4 ways to put the 100-degree Arctic heat record in context|Carolyn Gramling|July 1, 2020|Science News
Not quite, but at one point the temperature registered 29 below zero, with 21 inches of snow.
Speed Read: The Juiciest Bits From the History of ‘Purple Rain’|Jennie Yabroff|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But mostly they just walked, their faces somber, their hands shaking as the snow began to fall.
Justice League Vigil for Slain NYPD Officers Asks Whose Life Matters|Olivia Nuzzi|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There was snow on the ground when I made my last trip to see Sheffield.
I Was Gang Raped at a UVA Frat 30 Years Ago, and No One Did Anything|Liz Seccuro|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“I think there's too much snow in Finland at the present time,” he announces.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Because the American film industry is based in the sun bleached sands of Southern California, movies rarely feature snow.
Dinner at Nitehawk Cinema: ‘Christmas Vacation’ and a Beer in a Pear Tree|Rich Goldstein|December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To advance in such circumstances was out of the question, he therefore set about building a miniature hut of snow.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
By his commandment he maketh the snow to fall apace, and sendeth forth swiftly the lightnings of his judgment.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
At the foot of the pass, the valley widened a little, though still with steep, snow-capped cliffs crowding it on either side.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
I would not just then have traded off that steamboat for several square miles of snow-capped sublimity.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
She may be as chaste as unsunned snow, she is certainly as cold: but for warm, inspiring virtue!
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter

British Dictionary definitions for snow (1 of 2)

snow

/ (snəʊ) /

noun

precipitation from clouds in the form of flakes of ice crystals formed in the upper atmosphereRelated adjective: niveous

a layer of snowflakes on the ground

a fall of such precipitation

anything resembling snow in whiteness, softness, etc

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

slang cocaine

See carbon dioxide snow

verb

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

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

(often with it as subject) to fall or cause to fall as or like snow

(tr) US and Canadian slang to deceive or overwhelm with elaborate often insincere talkSee snow job

be snowed under to be overwhelmed, esp with paperwork

Derived forms of snow

snowless, adjectivesnowlike, adjective

Word Origin for snow

Old English snāw; related to Old Norse snjōr, Gothic snaiws, Old High German snēo, Greek nipha

British Dictionary definitions for snow (2 of 2)

Snow

/ (snəʊ) /

noun

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

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

Scientific definitions for snow

snow

[ snō ]

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.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with snow

snow

In addition to the idioms beginning with snow

snow job
snow under

also see:

pure as the driven snow

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.