snap
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /snæp/
rhymes: -æp
Forms: form: snaps
Etymology: From Dutch snappen (“to bite; seize”) or Low German snappen (“to bite; seize”), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *snappōn, from Proto-Germanic *snappōną (“to snap; snatch; chatter”), intensive form of *snapāną (”to snap; grab”, whence Old Norse snapa (“to get; scrounge”)), from Proto-Indo-European *snop-; compare Lithuanian snãpas (“beak, bill”). (One alternative hypothesis links the Germanic words to *snu-, an expressive root deriving words meaning “nose”, “snout”, “sniff” etc., but this is phonetically unsound.) In any case influenced by onomatopoeia; note expressions such as snip-snap, containing the formally unrelated snip.
Cognate with West Frisian snappe (“to get; catch; snap”), German schnappen (“to grab”), Swedish snappa (“to snatch”).
The verb is derived from the noun.
Senses: glosses: A quick breaking or cracking sound or the action of producing such a sound.
glosses: A sudden break.
glosses: An attempt to seize, bite, attack, or grab.
glosses: The act of snapping the fingers; making a sound by pressing a finger against the thumb and suddenly releasing to strike the hand.
glosses: A fastening device that makes a snapping sound when used.
examples: text: We took a few snaps of the old church before moving on.
glosses: A photograph; a snapshot.
glosses: The sudden release of something held under pressure or tension.
examples: text: a ginger snap
glosses: A thin circular cookie or similar baked good.
glosses: A brief, sudden period of a certain weather; used primarily in the phrase cold snap.
examples: text: It'll be a snap to get that finished.
text: I can fix most vacuum cleaners in a snap.
glosses: A very short period of time (figuratively, the time taken to snap one's fingers), or a task that can be accomplished in such a period.
glosses: A snap bean such as Phaseolus vulgaris.
examples: text: According to Pro Football Focus, Simmons, listed at 6-foot-4 and 238 pounds, played at least 100 snaps at five positions — slot cornerback, edge rusher, linebacker and both safety spots — and finished with 16½ tackles for a loss, eight sacks, eight pass deflections and three interceptions.
ref: 2020 April 23, Ken Belson, Ben Shpigel, “Full Round 1 2020 N.F.L. Picks and Analysis”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 23 Apr 2020:
topics: American-football
ball-games
football
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A backward pass or handoff of a football from its position on the ground that puts the ball in play; a hike.
glosses: A rivet: a scrapbooking embellishment.
topics: fishing
hobbies
lifestyle
glosses: A small device resembling a safety pin, used to attach the bait or lure to the line.
examples: text: When I went to put my coat on at snap time, what should go runnin' up my arm but a mouse.
ref: 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “Chapter 4”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:
glosses: A small meal, a snack; lunch.
glosses: A card game, primarily for children, in which players cry "snap" to claim pairs of matching cards as they are turned up.
examples: text: up rises a Cunning Snap, then at the Board, who desir'd to be Inform'd
ref: 1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC:
glosses: A greedy fellow.
examples: text: He's a nimble fellow, / And alike skill'd in every liberal science, / As having certain snaps of all.
ref: 1625 (first performance), Ben[jamin] Jonson, The Staple of Newes. […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Robert Allot […], published 1631, →OCLC, (please specify the page), (please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
glosses: That which is, or may be, snapped up; something bitten off, seized, or obtained by a single quick movement; hence, a bite, morsel, or fragment; a scrap.
glosses: Briskness; vigour; energy; decision.
examples: text: A Sea Soldier is certaine of victuals and wages, where the Land Soldiers pay will hardly find him sustenance. A Sea Soldier may now and than chaunce to haue a snapp at a bootie or a price, which may in an instant make him a fortune […]
ref: 1876, Publications, London, England: New Shakspere Society, page 169:
text: The Profs they lead a jolly life, jolly life, / They're free from every care and strife, care and strife. / They make the studes, poor studes fall into line; / I wish the Profs' soft snap were mine.
ref: 1920, Cornell Forester, volumes 1-6:
glosses: Any circumstance out of which money may be made or an advantage gained. used primarily in the phrase soft snap.
examples: text: I’m afraid my course is regarded as a ‘snap.’ Everybody, it seems, can grasp English literature (and produce it).
ref: 1919, Henry B[lake] Fuller, “Cope Dines—and Tells About It”, in Bertram Cope’s Year: A Novel, Chicago, Ill.: Ralph Fletcher Seymour, The Alderbrink Press, →OCLC, page 56:
text: The job was a snap. I travelled the country averaging a thousand miles a week and, since the previous incumbent had been a lazy bugger, managed to treble the business. It was a cinch.
ref: 2003, Clive Selwood, All the Moves (but None of the Licks), page 33:
glosses: Something that is easy or effortless.
glosses: A snapper, or snap beetle.
topics: natural-sciences
physical-sciences
physics
glosses: jounce (the fourth derivative of the position vector with respect to time), followed by crackle and pop
glosses: A quick offhand shot with a firearm; a snap shot.
examples: text: not worth a snap
glosses: Something of no value.
examples: text: By April 2014, over 700 million snaps are shared per day on Snapchat — more than Facebook, WhatsApp, and other social networks.
ref: 2014, Newton Lee, Facebook Nation: Total Information Awareness, page 51:
text: The oldest snaps will be deleted after 24 hours, and to keep the story going you'll have to add new content regularly.
ref: 2015, Suse Barnes, Like, Follow, Share: Awesome, Actionable Social Media Marketing to Maximise Your Online Potential, page 238:
text: While Snapchat bases its whole product marketing on the auto-deletion of the snaps (images and videos) so that they are not stored, recent reports indicate otherwise.
ref: 2015, Yuval Karniel, Amit Lavie-Dinur, Privacy and Fame: How We Expose Ourselves across Media Platforms, page 120:
qualifier: social media
glosses: Alternative letter-case form of Snap.
A visual message sent through the Snapchat application.
examples: text: “[…] What’s your snap?” she asks. “Oh here.” He jerks for his phone not trying to test her patience or invitation. They trade info. “Cool,” she comments and memorizes his username.
ref: 2017, Coulter, A Night’s Tale, BookVenture Publishing LLC, →ISBN:
text: In addition to compliments (“that’s hot!”) and direct propositions (“please post a full frontal shot”), commenters often leave invitations on users’ posts to direct message them (“DM me!”), follow their account (“follow me”) or exchange usernames for the ephemeral social messaging service, Snapchat (“snap: @readyforyou”, “what’s your snap?”).
ref: 2018, Elija Cassidy, Gay Men, Identity and Social Media: A Culture of Participatory Reluctance, Routledge, →ISBN:
text: He asked for my snap one day so I gave it to him, but strictly as friends and he knew that.
ref: 2023 August 29, Alexis Sook, chapter 1, in Two Hearts or One, Union City, N.J.: Writers Republic L.L.C., →ISBN, page 4:
qualifier: social media
glosses: Alternative letter-case form of Snap.
Clipping of Snapchat (“user account on Snapchat”).
topics: Linux
computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
software
glosses: A package provided for the application sandboxing system snapd developed by Canonical.
glosses: A crisp or pithy quality; epigrammatic point or force.
glosses: A tool used by riveters.
glosses: A tool used by glass-moulders.
glosses: A brief theatrical engagement.
glosses: A cheat or sharper.
examples: text: A 'snap' usually becomes a 'newsflash' on air. Keep snaps short, only run them when news is really 'hot', and try not to break a story within a few minutes of the bulletin unless it is top priority.
ref: 2013, Paul Chantler, Peter Stewart, Basic Radio Journalism, page 159:
glosses: A newsflash.
examples: text: […] black communities, this “snap” or example of the “dozens” (the clever form of insult also known as signifying and dissin') appears: “Your father's so black that when he falls down, people hop over him for fear of falling in.”
ref: 2013, Lewis R. Gordon, Existentia Africana: Understanding Africana Existential Thought, page 34:
text: The subcategory of snaps or rankouts often follows the formula of “Your mother's like——; she——,” or “Your mother's so——, she——.” Examples are “Your mother's like a door-knob; everyone gets a turn” and “Your mother's so low, she could play handball on the curb.”
ref: 2015, Simon J. Bronner, Encyclopedia of American Folklife:
synonyms: rankout
glosses: An insult of the kind used in the African-American verbal game of the dozens.
examples: text: Snap is another music style that came out of Atlanta. Snap is an early- to mid-2000s hip hop style derived from crunk.
ref: 2019, Anthony J. Fonseca, Listen to Rap!: Exploring a Musical Genre, page 1913:
glosses: A subgenre of hip-hop music derived from crunk.
Synonyms: word: clack
word: click
word: clunk
word: crack
word: snap
word: pop
Hypernyms: word: sound
Hyponyms: word: crackle
Derived terms: bang snap
beech snap
brandy snap
finger-snap
ginger snap
happy snap
in a snap
in the snap of one's fingers
long snap
oh snap
panic snap
Scotch snap
Scots snap
snap apple
snap bracelet
snap cap
snap clip
snap crotch
snap fastener
snap flask
snap freeze
snap gun
snap-happy
snap-in
snap inhale
snap judgment
snap kick
snapless
snap-link
snap music
snap of a finger
snap pea
snappish
snap pizzicato
snappy
snap R&B
snap ring
snap riveting
snap roll
snaps for you
snap shoot
snap-shot
snap stick
snap strap
snap swivel
snap-tin
snap tin
snap trap
snap-volley
snap zoom
snip-snap
snip-snap-snorem
snip-snap-snorum
sugar snap pea
Tele-snap
towel snap
Related terms: word: bang
word: beep
word: tap