snipe

UK: /ˈsnaɪp/ US: /snaɪp/ ,(snīp)

Inflections of 'snipe' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

snipes

v 3rd person singular

sniping

v pres p

sniped

v past

sniped

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

snipe /snaɪp/   n., pl. snipes, (esp. when thought of as a group) snipe for 1, 2.;
v., sniped, snip•ing. 
n. 

1. Birds a bird, a long-billed sandpiper, living in marshy areas.

v. [~ + at + object]

2. to shoot at individuals, esp. enemy soldiers, from a hidden or distant position.
3. to attack a person or a person's work with mean or nasty criticism, esp. from a safe distance:
   constantly sniping at his efforts to improve things.

snip•er, n. 

[countable] enemy snipers shooting from the forest.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

snipe  (snīp), n., pl. snipes, (esp. collectively) snipe for 1, 2;
v. sniped, snip•ing. 
n. 

1. Birds any of several long-billed game birds of the genera Gallinago (Capella) and Limnocryptes, inhabiting marshy areas, as G. gallinago (common snipe,) of Eurasia and North America, having barred and striped white, brown, and black plumage.
2. Birds any of several other long-billed birds, as some sandpipers.
3. a shot, usually from a hidden position.

v.i. 

4. to shoot or hunt snipe.
5. to shoot at individuals as opportunity offers from a concealed or distant position:
   The enemy was sniping from the roofs.
6. to attack a person or a person's work with petulant or snide criticism, esp. anonymously or from a safe distance.

• Old Norse -snīpa (in mȳrisnīpa moor snipe); cognate with Norwegian snipa, Icelandic snīpa; compare Danish sneppe, German Schnepfe
• Middle English snype (noun, nominal) 1275–1325

snipe′like′, adj. 
snip′er, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

snipe / snaɪp/ noun (snipe, snipes)

1. any of various birds of the genus Gallinago (or Capella) and related genera, such as G. gallinago (common or Wilson's snipe), of marshes and river banks, having a long straight bill: family Scolopacidae (sandpipers, etc), order Charadriiformes
2. a shot, esp a gunshot, fired from a place of concealment

verb

1. when intr, often followed by at: to attack (a person or persons) with a rifle from a place of concealment
2. (intransitive) often followed by at: to criticize adversely a person or persons from a position of security
3. (intransitive) to hunt or shoot snipe

Etymology: 14th Century: from Old Norse snīpa; related to Old High German snepfa Middle Dutch snippe