snap
Other forms: snapped; snapping; snaps
Oh, snap! When something snaps, it breaks or separates suddenly, often with a cracking sound. A snap can also be a fastener on clothes. And if you like a song, you can snap your fingers to the beat or snap a selfie of yourself dancing.
The verb snap is useful for many things that make a similar sharp sound, like when you snap your lunchbox shut, snap your fingers, or snap a whip. An animal's quick, strong bite is also a snap. As a noun, it can mean "fastener" or "the sound of a snap." A snap judgment is a decision you make almost instantaneously, and a cold snap is a short period of bitter weather.
Definitions of snap
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separate or cause to separate abruptly“The rope snapped”
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break suddenly and abruptly, as under tension“The pipe snapped”
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synonyms:
crack
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type of:
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break, come apart, fall apart, separate, split up
become separated into pieces or fragments
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break, come apart, fall apart, separate, split up
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a sudden sharp noise
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a sudden breaking
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type of:
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break
the occurrence of breaking
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break
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tender green beans without strings that easily snap into sections
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synonyms:
snap bean
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type of:
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green bean
immature bean pod eaten as a vegetable
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green bean
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make a sharp sound
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cause to make a snapping sound
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move or strike with a noise
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move with a snapping sound
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type of:
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move
move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion
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move
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bring the jaws together“he snapped indignantly”
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type of:
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bite, seize with teeth
to grip, cut off, or tear with or as if with the teeth or jaws
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bite, seize with teeth
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close with a snapping motion
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to grasp hastily or eagerly
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a fastener used on clothing; fastens with a snapping sound“children can manage snaps better than buttons”
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synonyms:
press stud, snap fastener
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the noise produced by the rapid movement of a finger from the tip to the base of the thumb on the same hand“servants appeared at the snap of his fingers”
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type of:
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noise
sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
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noise
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the act of snapping the fingers; movement of a finger from the tip to the base of the thumb on the same hand
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the act of catching an object with the hands“the infielder's snap and throw was a single motion”
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types:
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fair catch
(American football) a catch of a punt on the fly by a defensive player who has signalled that he will not run and so should not be tackled
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interception
(American football) the act of catching a football by a player on the opposing team
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reception
(American football) the act of catching a pass in football
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rebound
the act of securing possession of the rebounding basketball after a missed shot
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shoestring catch
(baseball) a running catch made near the ground
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interlock, interlocking, mesh, meshing
the act of interlocking or meshing
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utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
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lose control of one's emotions
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synonyms:
break down, lose it
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types:
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dissolve
lose control emotionally
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die
be brought to or as if to the point of death by an intense emotion such as embarrassment, amusement, or shame
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fall apart, go to pieces
lose one's emotional or mental composure
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dissolve
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(American football) putting the ball in play by passing it (between the legs) to a back
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put in play with a snap
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record on photographic film
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an informal photograph; usually made with a small hand-held camera
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a crisp round cookie flavored with ginger
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synonyms:
ginger nut, ginger snap, gingersnap
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types:
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brandysnap
a gingersnap flavored with brandy
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brandysnap
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the tendency of a body to return to its original shape after it has been stretched or compressed“the waistband had lost its snap”
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synonyms:
elasticity
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Antonyms:
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inelasticity
the lack of elasticity
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types:
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resilience, resiliency
the physical property of a material that can return to its original shape or position after deformation that does not exceed its elastic limit
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bounce, bounciness
the quality of a substance that is able to rebound
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give, spring, springiness
the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length
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stretch, stretchability, stretchiness
the capacity for being stretched
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temper, toughness
the elasticity and hardness of a metal object; its ability to absorb considerable energy before cracking
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elasticity of shear
the elasticity of a body that has been pulled out of shape by a shearing force
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type of:
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physical property
any property used to characterize matter and energy and their interactions
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inelasticity
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any undertaking that is easy to do
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synonyms:
breeze, child's play, cinch, duck soup, picnic, piece of cake, pushover, walkover
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types:
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doddle
an easy task
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type of:
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labor, project, task, undertaking
any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted
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doddle
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a spell of cold weather
Pronunciation
US
/snæp/
UK
/snæp/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘snap'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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