as in shaving
to make (something) shorter or smaller with the use of a cutting instrument
snipped the loose ends
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Recent Examples of snipping
One enzyme acts as a random chopper, snipping the long polymer chains into smaller pieces, while the other slowly chews these pieces into their monomer building units from each end.
—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 3 May 2026
This is easily accomplished by snipping the smaller ones (when a few inches tall) beneath the soil line instead of uprooting them, which could disturb the roots of the single seedling in each cluster.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 1 May 2026
Brushing past a pot of rosemary on the way to the grill, or snipping mint for a drink, makes the garden feel personal in a way that purely ornamental plantings cannot.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Sacbee.com, 28 Apr. 2026
Lilac standards require little pruning other than snipping spent flower blossoms and clipping back stems in early summer to maintain shape.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Apr. 2026
Heckel crowed with delight as Strong tried paper, snipping her classmate’s fingers with scissors to complete the sweep.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 16 Mar. 2026
Cut individual stems as needed, snipping above a leaf node to encourage continued growth.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 18 Jan. 2026
The nightingale tossed the worm in the air, snipping it in two with her beak and crushing its gummy, writhing halves against a flat rock.
—Hazlitt, 19 Nov. 2025
In the video, Sweeney goes from dirty blonde, with Oropeza methodically snipping the ends of her chin-length hair, to an icy, bright blonde.
—Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 27 Oct. 2025
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 3 May 2026
This is easily accomplished by snipping the smaller ones (when a few inches tall) beneath the soil line instead of uprooting them, which could disturb the roots of the single seedling in each cluster.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 1 May 2026
Brushing past a pot of rosemary on the way to the grill, or snipping mint for a drink, makes the garden feel personal in a way that purely ornamental plantings cannot.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Sacbee.com, 28 Apr. 2026
Lilac standards require little pruning other than snipping spent flower blossoms and clipping back stems in early summer to maintain shape.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Apr. 2026
Heckel crowed with delight as Strong tried paper, snipping her classmate’s fingers with scissors to complete the sweep.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 16 Mar. 2026
Cut individual stems as needed, snipping above a leaf node to encourage continued growth.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 18 Jan. 2026
The nightingale tossed the worm in the air, snipping it in two with her beak and crushing its gummy, writhing halves against a flat rock.
—Hazlitt, 19 Nov. 2025
In the video, Sweeney goes from dirty blonde, with Oropeza methodically snipping the ends of her chin-length hair, to an icy, bright blonde.
—Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 27 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snipping
Verb
-
Back in the day, scandals typically were point-shaving schemes that involved shadowy figures bribing athletes.—
Kirk Kenney,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
1 May 2026
-
Fairley also intends to plead guilty in a separate NCAA point-shaving case in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania over allegedly recruiting players who would accept bribes to influence games, the documents showed.—
Chloe Atkins,
NBC news,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
The 76ers got small cushions, with the Celtics cutting it to a point three additional times.—
Kyle Hightower,
Chicago Tribune,
3 May 2026
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School systems typically cope with declining enrollment by closing schools and cutting staff, among other options.—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
2 May 2026
Verb
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Tried to listen online while the neighbor made enough noise cutting and trimming his yard during the entire game.—
Ticked Off,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 Apr. 2026
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Steve Anderson was trimming a tree near a power line with his 17-year-old son on Saturday, April 18, when the accident occurred, according to Fox affiliate KOKI.—
Abigail Adams,
PEOPLE,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Vikki Papagno holds up a newspaper clipping from her scrapbook.—
Mary Murphy,
CBS News,
26 Apr. 2026
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Shoppers also claim that the D-ring built into the rim of the bag is a useful feature for clipping keys onto so that they don’t get buried inside.—
Olivia Young,
Travel + Leisure,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Snipping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snipping. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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