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The origins of snaffle are shrouded in mystery. What we know of its story begins in the 16th century. At that time, snaffle existed as both a noun referring to a simple bit for a horse's bridle and a verb meaning "to fit or equip with a snaffle" or "to restrain or check with or as if with a snaffle." The noun could be from an old German word for "mouth," snavel, but the connection has not been confirmed. The "obtain" meaning of the verb appeared in the early 18th century, and its origins are similarly elusive. Not so mysterious is what happened next to the verb: it developed a meaning of "to steal or rob," at least in British dialects.
Examples of snaffle in a Sentence
Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
Licorice has long been sought out and snaffled for its touted benefits, which range from digestion to respiratory health and skin conditions.
—Lars Brandle, Billboard, 7 Nov. 2025
Liam Livingstone launched into the legside but was snaffled.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2025
With the huge distributor-producer groups only getting bigger – Banijay is snaffling up libraries, All3Media has a rich new owner – and the Hollywood studios are back in the TV sales business, where does Sphere Abacus sit in the pecking order?
—Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2024
Cousins and friends snaffled pizza from the dressing room.
—Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, The Athletic, 15 Apr. 2024
Yet this creates an opportunity for others to snaffle the best brains repelled by chauvinism, to lure the most enterprising migrants, and once again to become lands of opportunity.
—The Economist, 16 Nov. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Snaffle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snaffle. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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