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
Police are searching for a straphanger suspected of unbolting a door switch from a inside a downtown C train Monday evening, snipping the wires and then absconding with the train part, sources tell the Daily News.
—
Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 14 May 2026
Nguyen’s striking direction in the scenes in which Kristen faces her future in the hospital elevates the maudlin material, especially after Kristen makes the choice to lose a leg in the hopes of snipping the cancer in the bud.
—Marya E. Gates, IndieWire, 13 May 2026
Its DuoScrub rotary mops apply downward pressure to erase stains, while a specialized hair-snipping brush eliminates manual detangling.
—Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 6 May 2026
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
Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 14 May 2026
Nguyen’s striking direction in the scenes in which Kristen faces her future in the hospital elevates the maudlin material, especially after Kristen makes the choice to lose a leg in the hopes of snipping the cancer in the bud.
—Marya E. Gates, IndieWire, 13 May 2026
Its DuoScrub rotary mops apply downward pressure to erase stains, while a specialized hair-snipping brush eliminates manual detangling.
—Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 6 May 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snipping
Verb
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This awesome little robovac-mop is literally shaving a full workday a week off her already insane I'm-a-mom schedule.—
Joe Salas
May 09,
New Atlas,
9 May 2026
-
Sobbing while shaving head in…what’s that movie?—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
9 May 2026
Verb
-
The back-to-back debates offered plenty of cutting moments as Mayor Karen Bass, Councilmember Nithya Raman and reality television star Spencer Pratt faced off against each other.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 May 2026
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Porter focused on cutting bureaucracy, calling for a single statewide development permit to streamline approvals and reduce delays.—
Noe Padilla,
USA Today,
9 May 2026
Verb
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After making a slew of undrafted free-agent signings, the Broncos are trimming their offseason roster as rookie minicamp kicks off this weekend.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
8 May 2026
-
Brian Kemp signs 34 bills, trimming his backlog with days left to act on this year’s legislation.—
Adam Beam,
AJC.com,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
The lab didn't take DNA samples from each fish, which can be done by clipping off a tiny bit of one fin.—
Nell Greenfieldboyce,
NPR,
7 May 2026
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Piastri was next, then Russell too, clipping the Red Bull’s rear tire with his Mercedes’ front wing.—
Jonathan M. Gitlin,
ArsTechnica,
4 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Snipping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snipping. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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