snap
/snæp/
noun
Meaning
A quick breaking or cracking sound or the action of producing such a sound.
A sudden break.
An attempt to seize, bite, attack, or grab.
The act of making a snapping sound by pressing the thumb and an opposing finger of the same hand together and suddenly releasing the grip so that the finger hits against the palm.
A fastening device that makes a snapping sound when used.
A photograph; a snapshot.
"We took a few snaps of the old church before moving on."
The sudden release of something held under pressure or tension.
A thin circular cookie or similar baked good.
"a ginger snap"
A brief, sudden period of a certain weather; used primarily in the phrase cold snap.
A very short period of time (figuratively, the time taken to snap one's fingers), or a task that can be accomplished in such a period.
"I can fix most vacuum cleaners in a snap."
A snap bean such as Phaseolus vulgaris.
A backward pass or handoff of a football from its position on the ground that puts the ball in play; a hike.
(somewhat colloquial) A rivet: a scrapbooking embellishment.
A small meal, a snack; lunch.
A card game, primarily for children, in which players cry "snap" to claim pairs of matching cards as they are turned up.
A greedy fellow.
That which is, or may be, snapped up; something bitten off, seized, or obtained by a single quick movement; hence, a bite, morsel, or fragment; a scrap.
Briskness; vigour; energy; decision
Any circumstance out of which money may be made or an advantage gained. used primarily in the phrase soft snap.
Something that is easy or effortless.
A snapper, or snap beetle.
Jounce (the fourth derivative of the position vector with respect to time), followed by crackle and pop
A quick offhand shot with a firearm; a snap shot.
Something of no value.
"not worth a snap"
A visual message sent through the Snapchat application.
A crisp or pithy quality; epigrammatic point or force.
A tool used by riveters.
A tool used by glass-moulders.
A brief theatrical engagement.
An easy and profitable place or task; a sinecure.
A cheat or sharper.
verb
Meaning
To fracture or break apart suddenly.
"He snapped his stick in anger."
To give forth or produce a sharp cracking noise; to crack.
"Blazing firewood snaps."
To attempt to seize with the teeth or bite.
"A dog snaps at a passenger. A fish snaps at the bait."
To attempt to seize with eagerness.
"She snapped at the chance to appear on television."
To speak abruptly or sharply.
"He snapped at me for the slightest mistake."
To give way abruptly and loudly.
To suffer a mental breakdown, usually while under tension.
"She should take a break before she snaps."
To flash or appear to flash as with light.
To fit or fasten together with a snapping sound.
To jump to a fixed position relative to another element.
"The floating toolbar will snap to the edge of the screen when dragged towards it."
To snatch with or as if with the teeth.
To pull apart with a snapping sound; to pop loose.
To say abruptly or sharply.
To speak to abruptly or sharply; to treat snappishly; usually with up.
To cause something to emit a snapping sound.
"to snap a fastener"
To close something using a snap as a fastener.
To snap one's fingers: to make a snapping sound, often by pressing the thumb and an opposing finger of the same hand together and suddenly releasing the grip so that the finger hits against the palm; alternatively, by bringing the index finger quickly down onto the middle finger and thumb.
To cause to move suddenly and smartly.
To take a photograph; to release a camera's shutter (which may make a snapping sound).
"He snapped a picture of me with my mouth open and my eyes closed."
To put (a football) in play by a backward pass or handoff from its position on the ground; to hike (a football).
"He can snap the ball to a back twenty yards behind him."
To misfire.
"The gun snapped."
To catch out sharply (a batsman who has just snicked a bowled ball).
adjective
Meaning
Done, made, performed, etc., quickly and unexpectedly, or without deliberation.
"a snap judgment or decision a snap political convention"
interjection
Meaning
The cry used in a game of snap when winning a hand.
By extension from the card game, "I've got one the same!", "Me too!"
"Snap! We've both got pink buckets and spades."
Ritual utterance of agreement (after the cry in the card game snap).
Used in place of expletive to express surprise, usually in response to a negative statement or news; often used facetiously.
""I just ran over your phone with my car." "Oh, snap!""
Ritual utterance used after something is said by two people at exactly the same time.
""Wasn't that John?" "Wasn't that John?" "Snap!""
Synonyms