plural snipes
1
or plural snipe
: any of various usually slender-billed birds of the sandpiper family
especially
: any of several game birds (especially genus Gallinago) especially of marshy areas
2
: a contemptible person
sniped; sniping
1
: to shoot at exposed individuals (as of an enemy's forces) from a usually concealed point of vantage
2
: to aim a carping or snide attack
sniper
noun
Examples of snipe in a Sentence
Verb
Enemy fighters sniped at them from vacant buildings.
One of the senators sniped, “What does he think this is, a monarchy?”.
Recent Examples on the Web
Dallas News, 12 May 2022
Anna Moneymaker/Getty In December, Boebert and Greene exchanged snipes over the speaker fight.
—Shannon Larson, BostonGlobe.com, 28 June 2023
When Clifton failed on a clearing attempt, Ullmark couldn’t stop Eetu Luostarinen’s go-ahead snipe that made it 6-5 at 14:22.
—Matt Porter, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Apr. 2023
Directors Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (aka Daniels), re-teaming from their comparably gonzo mix of pain and poignancy with Swiss Army Man (2016), center this restless hurricane of a film on the shoulders of a never-better Michelle Yeoh, who fluctuates mightily from droll snipe to agonized parent.
—Nicholas Bell, SPIN, 14 Dec. 2022
Two David Pastrnak goals, his 50th and 51st of the season, and a wicked snipe from rookie Jakub Lauko gave the Bruins a 3-1 edge after two periods.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 26 Mar. 2023
Luke Hughes started the flood with his second goal of the game, followed 16 seconds later by a snipe from Dylan Duke to make it 10-1.
—Ryan Ford, Detroit Free Press, 25 Mar. 2023
What a snipe from Nils Lundkvist!!
—Dallas News, 29 Sep. 2022
Evenly matched through two periods Minnesota opened the scoring with a snipe from Brody Lamb past Portillo on the left side.
—Ryan Ford, Detroit Free Press, 19 Mar. 2023
Tony Romm, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Aug. 2023
Meloni has categorically rejected the neofascist label as silly sniping from liberals.
—Stefano Pitrelli, Washington Post, 21 Aug. 2023
That means posing for photos together, trying to sound pally for TV interviews and so forth, while sniping at each other when the journos aren’t looking.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 10 Aug. 2023
Along the way, allies of each candidate took to whispered sniping about the other candidate, though the two principals remained friendly enough.
—David Jackson, USA TODAY, 24 May 2023
Mabel feigns interest in the story, inching closer to him to snipe the film drive from his pocket.
—Radhika Menon, ELLE, 15 Aug. 2023
Enter Email Sign Up ASSOCIATED PRESS DeSantis, Newsom to debate on Fox News
After a year of taunting and sniping, Republican presidential hopeful and right-wing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has agreed to finally meet California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom on the debate stage.
—BostonGlobe.com, 3 Aug. 2023
The offer of the prize, and now the German arms package, presented perhaps the best chance yet for Mr. Zelensky and Mr. Scholz to reset relations that have been characterized by months of tensions, sniping and diplomatic missteps.
—Christopher F. Schuetze, New York Times, 13 May 2023
While Steve Jobs and Bill Gates used to snipe at each other, the closest the tech world had before this to real sporting feuds was among billionaire yachtsmen like Larry Ellison of Oracle and Hasso Plattner of SAP.
—Mike Isaac, New York Times, 1 July 2023
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Noun
Tyler Seguin’s third-period snipe came when Game 4 was already decided.
—Dallas News, 12 May 2022
Anna Moneymaker/Getty In December, Boebert and Greene exchanged snipes over the speaker fight.
—Shannon Larson, BostonGlobe.com, 28 June 2023
When Clifton failed on a clearing attempt, Ullmark couldn’t stop Eetu Luostarinen’s go-ahead snipe that made it 6-5 at 14:22.
—Matt Porter, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Apr. 2023
Directors Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (aka Daniels), re-teaming from their comparably gonzo mix of pain and poignancy with Swiss Army Man (2016), center this restless hurricane of a film on the shoulders of a never-better Michelle Yeoh, who fluctuates mightily from droll snipe to agonized parent.
—Nicholas Bell, SPIN, 14 Dec. 2022
Two David Pastrnak goals, his 50th and 51st of the season, and a wicked snipe from rookie Jakub Lauko gave the Bruins a 3-1 edge after two periods.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 26 Mar. 2023
Luke Hughes started the flood with his second goal of the game, followed 16 seconds later by a snipe from Dylan Duke to make it 10-1.
—Ryan Ford, Detroit Free Press, 25 Mar. 2023
What a snipe from Nils Lundkvist!!
—Dallas News, 29 Sep. 2022
Evenly matched through two periods Minnesota opened the scoring with a snipe from Brody Lamb past Portillo on the left side.
—Ryan Ford, Detroit Free Press, 19 Mar. 2023
Verb
Instead, the two parties have sniped at each other politically, with Republicans accusing Biden of mismanaging federal funds — even though much of the country’s pandemic spending originated during the Trump presidency.
—Tony Romm, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Aug. 2023
Meloni has categorically rejected the neofascist label as silly sniping from liberals.
—Stefano Pitrelli, Washington Post, 21 Aug. 2023
That means posing for photos together, trying to sound pally for TV interviews and so forth, while sniping at each other when the journos aren’t looking.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 10 Aug. 2023
Along the way, allies of each candidate took to whispered sniping about the other candidate, though the two principals remained friendly enough.
—David Jackson, USA TODAY, 24 May 2023
Mabel feigns interest in the story, inching closer to him to snipe the film drive from his pocket.
—Radhika Menon, ELLE, 15 Aug. 2023
Enter Email Sign Up ASSOCIATED PRESS DeSantis, Newsom to debate on Fox News
After a year of taunting and sniping, Republican presidential hopeful and right-wing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has agreed to finally meet California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom on the debate stage.
—BostonGlobe.com, 3 Aug. 2023
The offer of the prize, and now the German arms package, presented perhaps the best chance yet for Mr. Zelensky and Mr. Scholz to reset relations that have been characterized by months of tensions, sniping and diplomatic missteps.
—Christopher F. Schuetze, New York Times, 13 May 2023
While Steve Jobs and Bill Gates used to snipe at each other, the closest the tech world had before this to real sporting feuds was among billionaire yachtsmen like Larry Ellison of Oracle and Hasso Plattner of SAP.
—Mike Isaac, New York Times, 1 July 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'snipe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse snīpa snipe; akin to Old High German snepfa snipe
First Known Use
Noun
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1832, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of snipe was
in the 14th century
Dictionary Entries Near snipe
Cite this Entry
“Snipe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snipe. Accessed 30 Sep. 2023.
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Kids Definition
snipe
1 of 2 noun
plural snipes or snipe
: any of several birds that have a long slender bill, live mostly in marshy areas, and are related to the sandpipers
snipe
2 of 2 verb
sniped; sniping
1
: to shoot at exposed individuals of an enemy's forces from a usually concealed point
2
: to attack with unfair or cutting remarks
sniper
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on snipe
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for snipe
Nglish: Translation of snipe for Spanish Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about snipe
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