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definitions

snub

[snuhb]
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verb (used with object), snubbed, snub·bing.
  1. to treat with disdain or contempt, especially by ignoring.
  2. to check or reject with a sharp rebuke or remark.
  3. to check or stop suddenly (a rope or cable that is running out).
  4. to check (a boat, an unbroken horse, etc.) by means of a rope or line made fast to a fixed object.
  5. to pull up or stop abruptly in such a manner.
noun
  1. an act or instance of snubbing.
  2. an affront, slight, or rebuff.
  3. a sudden check given to a rope or cable running out, a moving boat, or the like.
adjective
  1. (of the nose) short and turned up at the tip.
  2. blunt.

Origin of snub

1300–50; Middle English snubben < Old Norse snubba to scold, reprimand; cognate with Middle Low German snūben
Related formssnub·ber, nounsnub·bing·ly, adverbun·snubbed, adjective

Synonyms for snub

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1. slight. 2. stop, reprove, reprimand.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for snub

ostracize, disregard, scold, boycott, ignore, scorn, shun, neglect, rebuff, humiliate, mortify, upstage, duck, cut, humble, slight, slur, scratch, disdain, ice

Examples from the Web for snub

Contemporary Examples of snub

Historical Examples of snub

  • I had a snub nose and sandy hair, and I was tough, with a hard-set jaw.

    The Harbor

    Ernest Poole

  • I was middling small, with a square jaw, snub nose and sandy hair.

    The Harbor

    Ernest Poole

  • She opened her lips, and Artois thought she was going to snub her companion.

    A Spirit in Prison

    Robert Hichens

  • Jed accepted the snub with outward humility and inward appreciation.

    Shavings

    Joseph C. Lincoln

  • I cut him short with a remark which was intended for a snub.

    The Red Hand of Ulster

    George A. Birmingham

British Dictionary definitions for snub

snub

verb snubs, snubbing or snubbed (tr)
  1. to insult (someone) deliberately
  2. to stop or check the motion of (a boat, horse, etc) by taking turns of a rope or cable around a post or other fixed object
noun
  1. a deliberately insulting act or remark
  2. nautical
    1. an elastic shock absorber attached to a mooring line
    2. (as modifier)a snub rope
adjective
  1. short and bluntSee also snub-nosed
Derived Formssnubber, nounsnubby, adjective

Word Origin for snub

C14: from Old Norse snubba to scold; related to Norwegian, Swedish dialect snubba to cut short, Danish snubbe
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
Word Origin and History for snub
v.

mid-14c., "to check, reprove, rebuke," from Old Norse snubba "to curse, chide, snub, scold, reprove." The ground sense is perhaps "to cut off," and the word probably is related to snip. Cf. Swedish snobba "lop off, snuff (a candle)," Old Norse snubbotr "snubbed, nipped, with the tip cut off." Meaning "treat coldly" appeared early 18c. Related: Snubbed; snubbing.

adj.

"short and turned up," 1725, in snub-nosed, from snub (v.). The connecting notion is of being "cut short."

n.

"rebuke, intentional slight," 1530s, from snub (v.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper