snipe

[ snahyp ]

noun

, plural snipes, (especially collectively) snipe

1. Also British, snite []. any of several long-billed game birds of the genera Gallinago (sometimes Capella ) and Limnocryptes, inhabiting marshy areas, as G. gallinago com·mon snipe, orwhole snipe, of Eurasia and North America, having barred and striped white, brown, and black plumage.
2. any of several other long-billed birds, as some sandpipers.
3. a shot, usually from a hidden position.

verb (used without object)

, sniped, snip·ing.

1. to shoot or hunt snipe.
2. to shoot at individuals as opportunity offers from a concealed or distant position:

   The enemy was sniping from the roofs.

3. to attack a person or a person's work with petulant or snide criticism, especially anonymously or from a safe distance.

snipe

/ snaɪp /

noun

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. any of various similar related birds, such as certain sandpipers and curlews
3. a shot, esp a gunshot, fired from a place of concealment

verb

1. whenintr, often foll by at to attack (a person or persons) with a rifle from a place of concealment
2. introften foll byat to criticize adversely a person or persons from a position of security
3. intr to hunt or shoot snipe

Derived Forms

• ˈsnipeˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• snipe·like adjective
• snip·er noun
• coun·ter·snip·er noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of snipe¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of snipe¹

C14: from Old Norse snīpa; related to Old High German snepfa Middle Dutch snippe

Example Sentences

For context, that is 36 more metres of sniping runs than the rest of the scrum-halves combined.

From BBC

In the main, it appeared to be a vehicle for him to tell King, his one-time ally, to stop sniping from the sidelines about the club being in crisis and lacking direction.

From BBC

There was sniping in the press that he was hard to tempt away from his farmhouse in Oxford, where he lived with his second wife, Emma, and their three children.

From BBC

He sniped back with several irrational paragraphs and a spicy “here’s a tip for you.”

From Los Angeles Times

He’s bored with a doppelganger that traps him in an apparently endless series of culture war sniping.

From Salon