snub

[ snuhb ]
See synonyms for: snubsnubbedsnubbingsnubber on Thesaurus.com

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.

  1. to check or stop suddenly (a rope or cable that is running out).

  2. to check (a boat, an unbroken horse, etc.) by means of a rope or line made fast to a fixed object.

  3. to pull up or stop abruptly in such a manner.

noun
  1. an act or instance of snubbing.

  2. an affront, slight, or rebuff.

  1. 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.

Origin of snub

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English snubben, from Old Norse snubba “to scold, reprimand”; cognate with Middle Low German snūben

Other words for snub

Other words from snub

  • snub·ber, noun
  • snub·bing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use snub in a sentence

  • I required a good deal of snubbing, but when properly kept down I believe I was not a disagreeable girl.

    The Late Miss Hollingford | Rosa Mulholland
  • No; but you see snubbing is wholesome diet, if it is taken with a few grains of resolution, and he has come to that now!

    Magnum Bonum | Charlotte M. Yonge

British Dictionary definitions for snub

snub

/ (snʌb) /


verbsnubs, 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

    • an elastic shock absorber attached to a mooring line

    • (as modifier): a snub rope

adjective
  1. short and blunt: See also snub-nosed

Origin of snub

1
C14: from Old Norse snubba to scold; related to Norwegian, Swedish dialect snubba to cut short, Danish snubbe

Derived forms of snub

  • snubber, noun
  • snubby, adjective

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