snow

[ snoh ]

/ snoʊ /

noun

Meteorology. a 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.

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.

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Origin of snow

before 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English snāw; cognate with Dutch sneeuw, German Schnee, Old Norse snǣr, Gothic snaiws, Latin nix (genitive nivis), Greek níps (accusative nípha), OCS sněgŭ; (v.) Middle English snowen, derivative of the noun; replacing Middle English snewen, Old English snīwan; cognate with Old High German snīwan (German schneien), Middle Low German, Middle Dutch snīen

OTHER WORDS FROM snow

snow·less, adjectivesnow·like, adjective

Words nearby snow

snotter, snotty, snout, snout beetle, snout reflex, snow, snow apple, snow banner, snow blindness, snow blower, snow board

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for snowing

It was snowing outside, and he heard a knocking at his door.
Denmark Has a Riveting New Drama Starring Mads Mikkelsen|Marlow Stern|July 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It has been snowing for days, and at night temperatures in this mountain hamlet plummet far below zero.
Ice and Fire|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 25, 2012|DAILY BEAST
By the time we unloaded our bags at the curb, it was snowing heavily.
Ciao, Roma! Hello, Newark!|James Atlas|January 6, 2011|DAILY BEAST
The attack is always directed to the creative mind, and when we take note as we do today, it always seems to be snowing.
Writers Rally for Liu Xiaobo|PEN American Center|January 4, 2010|DAILY BEAST

It is snowing, but the runway at Midway Airport has been swept and the pilots commit to a landing.
The Good Plane Crash|Clive Irving|December 23, 2009|DAILY BEAST
She went singing to her algebra, which she could not have done if it had not been snowing.
The Green Satin Gown|Laura E. Richards
At length All-Saints' Day arrived, a grey, cold, snowing morning.
A Night on the Borders of the Black Forest|Amelia B. Edwards
They stayed in it all Tuesday and Tuesday night, when it was snowing.
Diary of a Nursing Sister on the Western Front, 1914-1915|Anonymous
He stayed but a little while at Kenmuir, yet when he started for home it was snowing again.
Bob, Son of Battle|Alfred Ollivant
It is an awful night, blowing and snowing; all the men but two are hors de combat.
Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, Volume I (of 2)|Isabella L. Bird

British Dictionary definitions for snowing (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 snowing (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 snowing

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.

Idioms and Phrases with snowing

snow

In addition to the idioms beginning with snow

snow job
snow under

also see:

pure as the driven snow

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snow