snipe

1 of 2

noun

ˈsnīp 

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

snipe

2 of 2

verb

sniped; sniping

intransitive verb

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

Noun

Both teams struggled to find the cage for the initial seven minutes, before Luke Betty ended the scoring drought with a snipe to provide Weston an early 1-0 advantage. — Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 6 June 2026

Eichel got Vegas on the board with a snipe of a wrist shot that beat Wedgewood high. — Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 23 May 2026

Verb

The brothers who sniped at each other in the press for decades? — Ethan Beck, Washington Post, 11 Sep. 2026

Both sides have consequently dug legal and PR trenches to snipe at the other and rally endorsements. — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 14 Aug. 2026

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

Rhymes for snipe

• gripe
• hype
• lipe
• pipe
• ripe
• sipe
• skype
• stipe
• stripe
• strype
• swipe
• tripe

Kids Definition

snipe

1 of 2 noun

ˈsnīp 

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