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
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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
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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
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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
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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 11 May. 2026.
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