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Entry 31 senses · 4 variants Webster, 1913

Snap

/snăp/ · IPA /snæp/
01 v. t. To break at once; to break short, as substances that are brittle.
imp. & p. p. Snapped; p. pr. & vb. n. Snapping
  1. 1.
    To break at once; to break short, as substances that are brittle.
    “Breaks the doors open, snaps the locks.” — Prior.
  2. 2.
    To strike, to hit, or to shut, with a sharp sound.
  3. 3.
    To bite or seize suddenly, especially with the teeth.
    “He, by playing too often at the mouth of death, has been snapped by it at last.” — South.
  4. 4.
    To break upon suddenly with sharp, angry words; to treat snappishly; -- usually with up.
  5. 5.
    To crack; to cause to make a sharp, cracking noise; as, to snap a whip.
    “MacMorian snapped his fingers repeatedly.” — Sir W. Scott.
  6. 6.
    To project with a snap.
  7. 7.
    To catch out sharply (a batsman who has just snicked a bowled ball).(Cricket)
Phrases & compounds
To snap back — to roll the ball back with the foot; -- done only by the center rush, who thus delivers the ball to the quarter back on his own side when both sides are ranged in line.
To snap off — To break suddenly
02 v. i. To break short, or at once; to part asunder suddenly; as, a mast snaps; a needle snaps.
  1. 1.
    To break short, or at once; to part asunder suddenly; as, a mast snaps; a needle snaps.
    “But this weapon will snap short, unfaithful to the hand that employs it.” — Burke.
  2. 2.
    To give forth, or produce, a sharp, cracking noise; to crack; as, blazing firewood snaps.
  3. 3.
    To make an effort to bite; to aim to seize with the teeth; to catch eagerly (at anything); -- often with at; as, a dog snapsat a passenger; a fish snaps at the bait.
  4. 4.
    To utter sharp, harsh, angry words; -- often with at; as, to snap at a child.
  5. 5.
    To miss fire; as, the gun snapped.
  6. 6.
    Of the eyes, to emit sudden, brief sparkles like those of a snapping fire, as sometimes in anger.
03 n. A sudden breaking or rupture of any substance.
  1. 1.
    A sudden breaking or rupture of any substance.
  2. 2.
    A sudden, eager bite; a sudden seizing, or effort to seize, as with the teeth.
  3. 3.
    A sudden, sharp motion or blow, as with the finger sprung from the thumb, or the thumb from the finger.
  4. 4.
    A sharp, abrupt sound, as that made by the crack of a whip; as, the snap of the trigger of a gun.
  5. 5.
    A greedy fellow.
  6. 6.
    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.
    “He's a nimble fellow, And alike skilled in every liberal science, As having certain snaps of all.” — B. Jonson.
  7. 7.
    A sudden severe interval or spell; -- applied to the weather; as, a cold snap.
  8. 8.
    A small catch or fastening held or closed by means of a spring, or one which closes with a snapping sound, as the catch of a bracelet, necklace, clasp of a book, etc.
  9. 9.
    A snap beetle.(Zool.)
  10. 10.
    A thin, crisp cake, usually small, and flavored with ginger; -- used chiefly in the plural.
  11. 11.
    Briskness; vigor; energy; decision.[Colloq.]
  12. 12.
    Any circumstance out of which money may be made or an advantage gained.[Slang]
  13. 13.
    Any task, labor, set of circumstances, or the like, that yields satisfactory results or gives pleasure with little trouble or effort, as an easy course of study, a job where work is light, a bargain, etc.[Slang, Chiefly U. S.]
  14. 14.
    A snap shot with a firearm.
  15. 15.
    A snapshot.(Photog.)
  16. 16.
    Something of no value; as, not worth a snap.[Colloq.]
  17. 17.
    The action of snapping the ball back, from the center usu. to the quarterback, which commences the play (down), and, if the clock had stopped, restarts the timer clock; a snap back.(Football)
Phrases & compounds
Snap back — the act of snapping back the ball.
Snap beetle — any beetle of the family Elateridae, which, when laid on its back, is able to leap to a considerable height by means of a thoracic spring; -- called also snapping beetle.
Snap flask — a flask for small work, having its sides separable and held together by latches, so that the flask may be removed from around the sand mold.
Snap judgment — a judgment formed on the instant without deliberation.
Snap lock — a lock shutting with a catch or snap.
Snap riveting — riveting in which the rivets have snapheads formed by a die or swaging tool.
Snap shot — a quick offhand shot, without deliberately taking aim.
04 a. Done, performed, made, executed, carried through, or the like, quickly and without deliberation; as, a snap judgment or decision; a snap po…
  1. 1.
    Done, performed, made, executed, carried through, or the like, quickly and without deliberation; as, a snap judgment or decision; a snap political convention.[Colloq.]