snaps

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of snap.

   The tailor sewed a row of brass snaps along the cuff.

   A few sudden cold snaps damaged the orchard's early blossoms.

   Note

   The plural belongs to the countable uses of the noun: a row of snaps on a cuff, a handful of holiday snaps, the sharp snaps of a breaking branch. When the photograph meaning is intended, the word is informal, so use snapshots or photographs in formal writing. The same spelling also serves the present-tense verb, and a determiner tells them apart: the snaps or a few snaps is always the noun.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of snap.

   The brittle plastic clip snaps the moment you bend it too far.

   He snaps the lid shut and slides the box across the table.

   Note

   The breaking meaning works in two patterns. Used intransitively, the thing breaks on its own (the clip snaps). Used transitively, someone breaks it (he snaps the twig). The other meanings are intransitive. With a sharp word, a bite or a grab aimed at someone, the verb takes at: the dog snaps at a hand, the manager snaps at a question. Without at, it usually means a break or a crack.

   The terrier snaps at anyone who reaches for its bowl.

   She snaps at her brother whenever he interrupts.

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