snap

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   (American football) putting the ball in play by passing it (between the legs) to a back

   the quarterback fumbled the snap

2. 2
   noun

   a fastener used on clothing

   fastens with a snapping sound

3. 3
   noun

   the tendency of a body to return to its original shape after it has been stretched or compressed

   the waistband had lost its snap

4. 4
   noun

   the noise produced by the rapid movement of a finger from the tip to the base of the thumb on the same hand

   The servants appeared at the snap of their fingers.

5. 5
   noun

   a spell of cold weather

   a cold snap in the middle of May

6. 6
   verb

   break suddenly and abruptly, as under tension

   The pipe snapped

7. 7
   verb

   close with a snapping motion

   The lock snapped shut

8. 8
   verb

   utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone

   The sales clerk snapped a reply at the angry customer

Etymology

From Dutch snappen (“to bite; seize”) or Low German snappen (“to bite; seize”), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *snappōn, from Proto-Germanic *snappōną (“to snap; snatch; chatter”), intensive form of *snapāną (”to snap; grab”, whence Old Norse snapa (“to get; scrounge”)), from Proto-Indo-European *snop-; compare Lithuanian snãpas (“beak, bill”). (One alternative hypothesis links the Germanic words to *snu-, an expressive root deriving words meaning “nose”, “snout”, “sniff” etc., but this is phonetically unsound.) In any case influenced by onomatopoeia; note expressions such as snip-snap, c…