# snap

Pronunciation: say "SNAP" /snæp/

## Verb

1. To break suddenly and sharply, or cause something to break this way, often with a cracking sound.
   - Simple: To break suddenly, or make something break suddenly, often with a sharp cracking sound.
   - _You can snap a dry branch with your bare hands._
   - _The mast snapped in the storm and crashed onto the deck._
2. To take a photograph by releasing a camera's shutter.
   - Simple: To take a photo of someone or something.
   - _The photographer snapped several portraits before the light faded._
   - _Tourists snap the monument from every possible angle._
3. To speak or say something suddenly and sharply, usually in anger or irritation.
   - Simple: To speak or say something in a quick, sharp way because you are angry or annoyed.
   - _He snapped at his assistant over a minor mistake._
   - _Tired managers often snap at their staff under pressure._
4. To suffer a mental breakdown, typically after prolonged tension or stress.
   - Simple: To suddenly lose control of your emotions after too much stress.
   - _The detective snapped under the weight of the unsolved case._
   - _People can snap when stress builds with no release._
5. To make a cracking sound by pressing the thumb against a finger and suddenly releasing it against the palm.
   - Simple: To make a sharp sound by pressing a finger against the thumb and quickly releasing it.
   - _The conductor snapped his fingers to set the tempo._
   - _Dancers snap their fingers in time with the beat._
8. To move or shift suddenly into a new position.
   - Simple: To move or jump to a new position all at once.
   - _Her head snapped toward the door at the sound of breaking glass._
   - _Dancers snap into formation the moment the music starts._
11. To make an eager attempt to seize or take hold of something.
   - Simple: To eagerly try to grab a chance or offer.
   - _Any sensible applicant would snap at an offer like that._
   - _He snapped at the chance to join the expedition to Antarctica._
13. To fasten, close, or lock into place with a sharp click, or to fasten something in this way, often with a snap fastener.
   - Simple: To close or fit into place with a short clicking sound, or to close something this way.
   - _The phone case snaps neatly around the edges._
   - _The pieces snap into place with a satisfying click._
28. To give off a sharp, sudden cracking noise.
   - Simple: To make a quick, sharp cracking sound.
   - _The sails snapped as the wind shifted suddenly._
   - _We sat by the campfire, listening to the pine logs snap and hiss._
14. (Of an animal) to bite or try to bite something with a quick, snatching movement of the jaws, teeth, or beak.
   - Simple: If an animal snaps at something, it quickly tries to bite or grab it with its mouth.
   - _The turtle snapped at the stick the boy dangled over the pond._
   - _Cornered animals will snap at anyone who comes too close._
30. To pull something apart with a snapping sound; to pop it loose.
   - Simple: To pull something apart so it pops loose with a sound.
   - _He snapped the battery cover off the remote to check what was inside._
   - _Technicians snap the modules free without any tools at all._
19. In American football, to start a play by passing or handing the ball backward from its spot on the ground, also called hiking it.
   - Simple: In American football, to pass or hand the ball back from the ground to start a play.
   - _In the shotgun formation, the center must snap the ball to a quarterback standing several yards back._
   - _Nervous in his first game, the rookie snapped the ball high over the punter's head._
21. Alternative letter-case form of Snap, meaning to send someone a picture or video message through the Snapchat app.
   - Simple: Lowercase spelling of Snap: to send someone a photo or video on the Snapchat app.
   - _When you reach the trailhead, snap me a photo of the map, and I'll screenshot it before it disappears._
   - _My friends snap each other short disappearing videos from every concert they go to._
23. To make something produce a sharp, sudden crack or click, especially by shutting it quickly.
   - Simple: To make something give a quick, sharp sound, often by closing it fast.
   - _The trainer never touched the horse; she only had to snap the whip above its head._
   - _Checking the time, he snapped his pocket watch shut and rose to leave._
24. In a graphical user interface, to leap into a set place determined by the position of another element, such as the screen's edge.
   - Simple: On a computer screen, to jump into a set place that depends on where something else is.
   - _With the grid turned on, every shape you draw will snap to the nearest gridline._
   - _The slider handle snaps to the closest marked value as soon as you let go._

## Noun

6. A sudden, sharp breaking or cracking, especially of something under tension such as a string, cable, or bone, or the sharp sound this makes.
   - Simple: A sudden break or crack, or the short, sharp sound something makes when it breaks.
   - _The snap of the wishbone signaled the end of the meal._
   - _A sudden snap from the fireplace made everyone jump._
7. In American football, the backward pass or handoff of the ball from the ground that puts it into play; a hike.
   - Simple: In football, the quick pass that puts the ball into play to start a down.
   - _The receiver went in motion just before the snap._
   - _A clean snap let the holder set the ball for the field goal._
9. A photograph, especially one taken quickly or informally. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A photograph, especially a quick or casual one.
   - _Grandma kept a shoebox full of old vacation snaps._
   - _He uploaded a snap of the team to the website._
12. A fastening device that closes with a distinctive snapping sound.
   - Simple: A small fastener that clicks shut to hold things together.
   - _The gloves fastened at the wrist with a single snap._
   - _He replaced the broken snap on his backpack strap._
15. Something that is easy or takes very little effort. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Something that is very easy to do.
   - _With the right tools, the repair was a snap._
   - _She found the new software a snap to learn._
16. A very short period of time (the moment it takes to snap the fingers) or a task accomplished that quickly.
   - Simple: A very short moment, or a task that can be done that quickly.
   - _The technician had the system back online in a snap._
   - _He promised to return in a snap and was gone before I could reply._
17. A brief, sudden spell of a particular kind of weather, especially cold.
   - Simple: A short, sudden spell of cold weather.
   - _An early cold snap caught the orchard owners off guard._
   - _After a week of mild weather, a sudden cold snap froze the pipes in our basement._
18. The act of snapping the fingers to produce a sharp clicking sound.
   - Simple: The act of making a sharp sound with your fingers and thumb.
   - _A sharp snap of her fingers silenced the room._
   - _He kept time with the rhythmic snap of his thumb and finger._
31. A thin, round, crisp cookie or similar baked treat.
   - Simple: A thin, round, crisp cookie.
   - _The bakery sells brandy snaps filled with whipped cream._
   - _Each thin lemon snap is crisp and goes well with a cup of tea._
32. A card game, played mostly by children, in which the first player to call out "snap" when two matching cards are turned up wins them.
   - Simple: A children's card game where you shout to claim matching cards.
   - _On the long train ride, the cousins passed the time playing snap._
   - _He won every round of snap by spotting the matches first._
33. A sudden snatching movement of the jaws or hands, made to bite, catch, or attack.
   - Simple: A quick try to bite, grab, or attack something.
   - _A single snap of the shark's jaws tore the float in half._
   - _The dog made a quick snap at the fly buzzing past its nose._
20. A picture or video message sent or shared through the Snapchat app.
   - Simple: A photo or video that someone sends on the Snapchat app.
   - _She tried to save the snap, but the video vanished the moment it finished playing._
   - _He added a few snaps to his story so his followers could see the concert._
22. Brisk, vigorous energy and a decisive quality in the way something is done.
   - Simple: Quick, lively energy, and a strong, sure way of doing things.
   - _The editor cut two scenes to give the second act more snap._
   - _Even at eighty, he answered every question with the snap of a man half his age._
26. A bean whose tender young pods are eaten, such as the common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris; a snap bean.
   - Simple: A green bean, or a similar bean that is eaten whole.
   - _At the farmers market, she bit into a raw snap to check that the beans were tender._
   - _She cooked the snaps slowly with a little bacon and onion, the way her mother always had._
27. Short for Snapchat: a person's username or account on the app. *(colloquial)* — Clipping of Snapchat (“user account on Snapchat”).
   - Simple: Short for Snapchat, meaning a person's account on the app. People ask for it to add a new friend.
   - _He finally worked up the nerve to ask for her snap at the end of the night._
   - _Everyone drop your snap in the group chat so we can all add each other._

## Adjective

10. Done, made, or decided suddenly, often without prior warning or careful thought.
   - Simple: Done or decided suddenly, often without warning or much thought.
   - _The board held a snap vote before anyone could object._
   - _His snap judgments of strangers often turned out to be wrong._

## Interjection

29. A mild exclamation used in place of a swear word to express surprise, usually at unwelcome news and often in a joking way. *(Canada, US)*
   - Simple: A mild word people say to show surprise, often at bad news.
   - _Oh snap, they canceled the flight after we'd already checked in._
   - _Snap, we forgot to save the file before the power cut out._
25. Used to point out that you have one exactly like someone else's, or more broadly that the same goes for you. *(Australia, British)*
   - Simple: Said when you have the same thing as someone else, or to mean "Me too!"
   - _She walked into the party, spotted her colleague in an identical dress and laughed, "Snap!"_
   - _"I'm off to Cornwall for the bank holiday." "Snap! We've booked a cottage near Padstow."_

## Other meanings

- (noun) A quick shot fired from a gun on the spot, without taking careful aim.
- (noun) A small decorative metal rivet used in scrapbooking.
- (noun) A small clip, shaped like a safety pin, that fastens a hook or lure to a fishing line.
- (noun) A light meal or snack, especially a packed lunch taken to work.
- (noun) A greedy, grasping person.
- (noun) A morsel or scrap, something grabbed or bitten off in one quick motion.
- (noun) A job or situation that lets someone make easy profit or gain an edge, mostly heard as soft snap.
- (noun) A click beetle, which flips itself over with a clicking noise.
- (noun) In physics, the rate of change of jerk over time, that is, the fourth derivative of position, also called jounce.
- (noun) A trifle that is worth nothing.
- (noun) A software package for Linux in the self-contained, sandboxed format created by Canonical.
- (noun) Crisp, witty sharpness in speech or writing.
- (noun) A riveter's tool with a cupped end for shaping the head of a rivet.
- (noun) A clamp used in glassmaking to hold a bottle or vessel by its base while it is finished.
- (noun) A short run or booking for a performer in the theater.
- (noun) A swindler or card cheat.
- (noun) A brief urgent news bulletin.
- (noun) A joking put-down traded in the dozens, a game of verbal sparring in African-American culture.
- (noun) A style of hip-hop that grew out of crunk, built on sparse beats and finger snaps.
- (verb) To flash or seem to give off sudden sparks of light, as eyes do in anger.
- (verb) To make something move with a quick, smart jerk.
- (verb) Of a gun, to fail to fire, with only the click of the hammer.
- (verb) In cricket, to dismiss a batter with a quick catch just after the ball comes off the edge of the bat.
- (interjection) Called out in the card game snap by the first player to spot a matching pair.
- (interjection) Said to show that one agrees with what was just said.
- (interjection) Said when two people happen to say the very same thing at once.

## Origin

From Dutch or Low German snappen ("to bite; seize"), going back through Proto-Germanic to a root meaning "to snap, snatch, or grab," with the word's sound likely influencing it. It is related to German schnappen ("to grab") and Swedish snappa ("to snatch"); the verb comes from the noun.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/snap (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).