Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Snap
Snap
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Snapped
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Snapping
.] 1.
To break at once; to break short, as substances that are brittle.
Breaks the doors open,
snaps
the locks. Prior.
2.
To strike, to hit, or to shut, with a sharp sound.
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.
To break upon suddenly with sharp, angry words; to treat snappishly; – usually with up.
Granville.
5.
To crack; to cause to make a sharp, cracking noise;
as, to
. snap
a whipMacMorian
snapped
his fingers repeatedly. Sir W. Scott.
6.
To project with a snap.
To snap back
(Football)
, 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
. (a)
To break suddenly
. (b)
To bite off suddenly.
Snap
,Verb.
I.
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.
To give forth, or produce, a sharp, cracking noise; to crack;
as, blazing firewood
. snaps
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
snaps
at a passenger; a fish snaps
at the bait.4.
To utter sharp, harsh, angry words; – often with at;
as, to
. snap
at a child5.
To miss fire;
as, the gun
. snapped
1.
A sudden breaking or rupture of any substance.
2.
A sudden, eager bite; a sudden seizing, or effort to seize, as with the teeth.
3.
A sudden, sharp motion or blow, as with the finger sprung from the thumb, or the thumb from the finger.
4.
A sharp, abrupt sound, as that made by the crack of a whip;
as, the
. snap
of the trigger of a gun5.
A greedy fellow.
L’Estrange.
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
And alike skilled in every liberal science,
As having certain
snaps
of all. B. Jonson.
7.
A sudden severe interval or spell; – applied to the weather;
as, a cold
. snap
Lowell.
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.
(Zool.)
A snap beetle.
10.
A thin, crisp cake, usually small, and flavored with ginger; – used chiefly in the plural.
11.
Briskness; vigor; energy; decision.
[Colloq.]
12.
Any circumstance out of which money may be made or an advantage gained.
[Slang]
Snap back
(Football)
, the act of snapping back the ball.
– Snap beetle
, or
Snap bug
(Zool.)
, 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
(Molding)
, 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.
Webster 1828 Edition
Snap
SNAP
, v.t.1.
To break at once; to break short; as substances that are brittle. Breaks the doors open, smaps the locks.2.
To strike with a sharp sound.3.
To bite or seize suddenly with the teeth.4.
To break upon suddenly with sharp angry words.5.
To crack; as, to snap a whip.