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snipe definition

snipe (snīp)

noun

  1. pl. snipes any of various shorebirds (family Scolopacidae) with a long, slender, flexible bill used in probing for food, esp. a genus (Gallinago) living chiefly in marshy places
  2. a shot from a hidden position
  3. Slang a cigar butt or cigarette butt

Etymology: ME snype < ON snipa (akin to Ger schnepfe) < Gmc *sneb-, beak < base seen in snip, snap

intransitive verb sniped, sniping snip′·ing

  1. to hunt or shoot snipe
  2. to shoot from a hidden position, as at individuals of an enemy force
  3. to direct an attack (at someone) in a sly or underhanded way

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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