English
Noun
Snipe (plural snipe or snipes)
- Any of various limicoline game birds of the family Scolopacidae, having a long, slender, nearly straight beak.
- A fool; a blockhead.
- A shot from a concealed place.
- (naval slang) A member of the Engineering Department on a ship.
- A bottle of wine containing 0.1875 liters of fluid, 1/4 the volume of a standard bottle; a quarter bottle or piccolo.
- An animated promotional logo during a television show.
Derived terms
Verb
Snipe (third-person singular simple present snipes, present participle sniping, simple past and past participle sniped)
- To shoot at individuals from a concealed place.
- To make malicious, underhand remarks or attacks.
- To watch a timed online auction and place a winning bid at the last possible moment.
Derived terms
Thesaurus
aim at, attack, barrage, blast, blitz, bombard, cannon, cannonade, carp at, charge, cock, commence firing, criticize, deride, detonate, discharge, drop, eject, enfilade, fell, fire, fire a volley, fire at, fire off, fire upon, fusillade, gun, gun for, hit, knock, let fly, let off, load, mortar, open fire, open up on, pan, pelt, pepper, pick off, pistol, plug, pop at, pot, potshoot, potshot, prime, rake, rap, riddle, shell, shoot, shoot at, shoot down, slam, snipe at, strafe, strike, take a potshot, take aim at, torpedo, zero in on
Etymology
The verb, i.e. its original meaning "to sharpshoot", was first used by British troops in India in the 18th century in allusion to their hunting of snipe as game.
Pronunciation
Translations
Noun
bird of the family Scolopacidae
shot from a concealed place
naval slang: member of the Engineering Department
animated promotional logo during a television show
See also
Anagrams
