snappy

[ snap-ee ]

adjective

, snap·pi·er, snap·pi·est.

1. apt to snap or bite; snappish, as a dog.
2. impatient or irritable, as a person or a reply.
3. snapping or crackling in sound, as a fire.
4. quick or sudden in action or performance.
5. Informal. crisp, smart, lively, brisk, etc.:

   Only snappy people get ahead in this world.

snappy

/ ˈsnæpɪ /

adjective

1. Alsosnappish apt to speak sharply or irritably
2. Alsosnappish apt to snap or bite
3. crackling in sound

   a snappy fire

4. brisk, sharp, or chilly

   snappy weather

   a snappy pace

5. smart and fashionable

   a snappy dresser

6. make it snappy slang.
   be quick! hurry up!

Derived Forms

• ˈsnappily, adverb
• ˈsnappiness, noun

Other Words From

• snappi·ly adverb
• snappi·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of snappy¹

First recorded in 1740–50; snap + -y ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. make it snappy, Slang. to speed up; hurry.

More idioms and phrases containing snappy

see under make haste .

Example Sentences

Guy said his father would generally get rid of animals that were "snappy or nasty" and that the cows in the field had "always acted in a docile manner".

From BBC

He outmuscled Rios, with the challenger covering up as left and right hooks landed on the temple and snappy uppercuts snuck through the high guard.

From BBC

We knew the people involved were interesting and we knew the spy genre wants to be snappy, where they say all the right things at the right time.

From Los Angeles Times

Like humans, wild chimpanzees engage in snappy, turn-taking conversations, where they wait just a fraction of a second for their turn to 'speak'.

From BBC

Full of snappy and snappish dialogue, the book imagines a carnival-esque week’s idyll in the “shantytown of millionaires” that was 1950s Malibu.

From Los Angeles Times