snob

noun

ˈsnäb 

1

British : cobbler

2

: one who blatantly imitates, fawningly admires, or vulgarly seeks association with those regarded as social superiors

3

a

: one who tends to rebuff, avoid, or ignore those regarded as inferior

b

: one who has an offensive air of superiority in matters of knowledge or taste

Synonyms of snob

• snot
• elitist

Examples of snob in a Sentence

Most of the people in the club are snobs who look down on people who attended public schools.

Don't be such a snob.

Recent Examples on the Web

Terroir doesn’t just belong to wine snobs, because apparently Ethiopia owns it. —John Noakes, Hartford Courant, 31 Jan. 2026

O’Hara relished playing deluded snobs like this wealthy Manhattanite with artistic ambitions from director Tim Burton’s horror comedy about two dead owners of a country house who want to drive out its new buyers. —Julie Hinds, Freep.com, 30 Jan. 2026

There’s also a revolving cast of characters, like musical theater snob Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale), her pianist brother Ryan (Lucas Grabeel), and Troy’s puppy-dog-esque best friend Chad Danforth (Corbin Bleu), all with varying levels of excitement about Troy’s sudden interest in arpeggio scales. —Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 24 Jan. 2026

Since the show’s premiere in March 2024, Burnett’s Norma has been set up as a money- and status-hungry snob, willing to do just about anything to have others do her bidding and maintain her opulent lifestyle amongst the highest of high society. —Rosemary Rossi, Variety, 9 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1781, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing snob

• anti-snob
• snob appeal
• snob value

Rhymes for snob

• blob
• bob
• cob
• daub
• fob
• glob
• gob
• hob
• job
• knob
• lob
• mob

Kids Definition

snob

noun

ˈsnäb 

1

: one who imitates, admires, or seeks association with those of higher social position

2

: one who looks down upon those felt to be less important

Etymology

from obsolete snob "a member of the lower classes," from a dialect word snob "cobbler, shoemaker"

Word Origin

Snob is an old word in English for "a cobbler, a person who makes or repairs shoes." Cobblers came to be thought of as representative of all of the working-class or lower-class people. In time the name snob came to be applied to the lower classes as distinguished from the nobility, the landowners, and the rich merchants. From its being used for any member of the lower class, snob soon came to mean "a person who pretends to be a member of a higher class, one who imitates the clothing, speech, and manners of the nobility." Nowadays the word means "anyone who acts as if he or she were better than others."