snapper

UK: /ˈsnæpə^r/ US: (snap′ər)

Inflections of 'snapper' (n):

snappers

npl (All usages. For the fish, mainly used to talk about different types—e.g. "Snappers include the Australasian snapper and the red snapper.")

snapper

npl (For the fish, especially as a collective plural—e.g. "The fisherman has a good catch of snapper.")

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

snap•per  (snap′ər), n., pl. (esp. collectively) -per,  (esp. referring to two or more kinds or species) -pers for 1, 2;
-pers for 3, 4, 5.

1. Fish any of several large marine food fishes of the family Lutjanidae.
2. Fish any of various other fishes, as the bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix.
3. Reptiles See snapping turtle. 
4. Informal Terms a person in charge of a group of workers.
5. a tuft or knot of cotton, horsehair, hemp, etc., at the tip of a whip's lash;
   cracker;
   popper.

• snap + -er¹ 1525–35

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

snapper / ˈsnæpə/ noun ( -per, -pers)

1. any large sharp-toothed percoid food fish of the family Lutjanidae of warm and tropical coastal regions
   See also red snapper
2. a sparid food fish, Chrysophrys auratus, of Australia and New Zealand, that has a pinkish body covered with blue spots
3. another name for bluefish, snapping turtle
4. a person or thing that snaps

Also called (for senses 1, 2): schnapper