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snap

/snæp/
Dictionary

noun

  • A quick breaking or cracking sound or the action of producing such a sound.
  • A sudden break.
  • An attempt to seize, bite, attack, or grab.
  • The act of making a snapping sound by pressing the thumb and an opposing finger of the same hand together and suddenly releasing the grip so that the finger hits against the palm.
  • A fastening device that makes a snapping sound when used.
  • A photograph; a snapshot.

    "We took a few snaps of the old church before moving on."

  • The sudden release of something held under pressure or tension.
  • A thin circular cookie or similar baked good.

    "a ginger snap"

  • A brief, sudden period of a certain weather; used primarily in the phrase cold snap.
  • A very short period of time (figuratively, the time taken to snap one's fingers), or a task that can be accomplished in such a period.

    "I can fix most vacuum cleaners in a snap."

  • A snap bean such as Phaseolus vulgaris.
  • A backward pass or handoff of a football from its position on the ground that puts the ball in play; a hike.
  • (somewhat colloquial) A rivet: a scrapbooking embellishment.
  • A small meal, a snack; lunch.
  • A card game, primarily for children, in which players cry "snap" to claim pairs of matching cards as they are turned up.
  • A greedy fellow.
  • That which is, or may be, snapped up; something bitten off, seized, or obtained by a single quick movement; hence, a bite, morsel, or fragment; a scrap.
  • Briskness; vigour; energy; decision
  • Any circumstance out of which money may be made or an advantage gained. used primarily in the phrase soft snap.
  • Something that is easy or effortless.
  • A snapper, or snap beetle.
  • Jounce (the fourth derivative of the position vector with respect to time), followed by crackle and pop
  • A quick offhand shot with a firearm; a snap shot.
  • Something of no value.

    "not worth a snap"

  • A visual message sent through the Snapchat application.
  • A crisp or pithy quality; epigrammatic point or force.
  • A tool used by riveters.
  • A tool used by glass-moulders.
  • A brief theatrical engagement.
  • An easy and profitable place or task; a sinecure.
  • A cheat or sharper.

verb

  • To fracture or break apart suddenly.

    "He snapped his stick in anger."

  • To give forth or produce a sharp cracking noise; to crack.

    "Blazing firewood snaps."

  • To attempt to seize with the teeth or bite.

    "A dog snaps at a passenger. A fish snaps at the bait."

  • To attempt to seize with eagerness.

    "She snapped at the chance to appear on television."

  • To speak abruptly or sharply.

    "He snapped at me for the slightest mistake."

  • To give way abruptly and loudly.
  • To suffer a mental breakdown, usually while under tension.

    "She should take a break before she snaps."

  • To flash or appear to flash as with light.
  • To fit or fasten together with a snapping sound.
  • To jump to a fixed position relative to another element.

    "The floating toolbar will snap to the edge of the screen when dragged towards it."

  • To snatch with or as if with the teeth.
  • To pull apart with a snapping sound; to pop loose.
  • To say abruptly or sharply.
  • To speak to abruptly or sharply; to treat snappishly; usually with up.
  • To cause something to emit a snapping sound.

    "to snap a fastener"

  • To close something using a snap as a fastener.
  • To snap one's fingers: to make a snapping sound, often by pressing the thumb and an opposing finger of the same hand together and suddenly releasing the grip so that the finger hits against the palm; alternatively, by bringing the index finger quickly down onto the middle finger and thumb.
  • To cause to move suddenly and smartly.
  • To take a photograph; to release a camera's shutter (which may make a snapping sound).

    "He snapped a picture of me with my mouth open and my eyes closed."

  • To put (a football) in play by a backward pass or handoff from its position on the ground; to hike (a football).

    "He can snap the ball to a back twenty yards behind him."

  • To misfire.

    "The gun snapped."

  • To catch out sharply (a batsman who has just snicked a bowled ball).

adjective

  • Done, made, performed, etc., quickly and unexpectedly, or without deliberation.

    "a snap judgment or decision    a snap political convention"

interjection

  • The cry used in a game of snap when winning a hand.
  • By extension from the card game, "I've got one the same!", "Me too!"

    "Snap! We've both got pink buckets and spades."

  • Ritual utterance of agreement (after the cry in the card game snap).
  • Used in place of expletive to express surprise, usually in response to a negative statement or news; often used facetiously.

    ""I just ran over your phone with my car." "Oh, snap!""

  • Ritual utterance used after something is said by two people at exactly the same time.

    ""Wasn't that John?" "Wasn't that John?" "Snap!""

Synonyms:jinx

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