snipe

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary EnglishRelated topics: Weaponssnipesnipe1 /snaɪp/ verb [intransitive] 1 PMWSHOOTto shoot from a hidden position at people who are not protectedsnipe at soldiers sniping at civilians2 CRITICIZEto criticize someone in a nasty waysnipe at His former associates have been sniping at him in the press. —sniping noun [uncountable]→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpussnipe• None of those who sniped at his film career were ever to be so lasciviously tempted.• The attack grew so personal, in fact, that attorneys began sniping at one another in front of the jurors.• The young woman was sniping at the Counsellors. snipe at• Ranchers and activists have been sniping at each other about grazing on public lands.• At that time, guerrillas were beginning to snipe at travelers.Related topics: Birdssnipesnipe2 noun [countable] HBBa bird with a very long thin beak that lives in wet areasExamples from the Corpussnipe• Are your eyes crooked and your legs crossed that you zig-zag like a snipe?• This would deprive wading birds such as curlew and snipe of an ideal breeding sanctuary.• But Ann would not be plucking five hundred snipe carcases surely?• It was a jack snipe, bobbing rhythmically on green legs in the shallow water.• There can't be that number of snipe in the whole of Lewis let alone Barvas Estate, surely?• Waders - redshank, snipe, dunlin - probed in the wet mud.• In my mind I could almost hear the snipe whirling overhead on warm spring days in this, their prime habitat.Origin snipe2 (1300-1400) Probably from Old Norse snipa

Quizzes

Take our quick quizzes to practise your vocabulary.
We have thousands of six-question quizzes to try.
Choose from collocations, synonyms, phrasal verbs and more.

Pictures of the day

What are these?

Click on the pictures to check.

Explore topics

See all topics

Word of the day intrude to interrupt someone or become involved in their private affairs, in an annoying and unwanted way

Verb table

snipe

Simple Form
Present
I, you, we, they	snipe
he, she, it	snipes
> View More
Past
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	sniped
Present perfect
I, you, we, they	have sniped
he, she, it	has sniped
Past perfect
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	had sniped
Future
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	will snipe
Future perfect
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	will have sniped
> View Less

Continuous Form
Present
I	am sniping
he, she, it	is sniping
> View More
you, we, they	are sniping
Past
I, he, she, it	was sniping
you, we, they	were sniping
Present perfect
I, you, we, they	have been sniping
he, she, it	has been sniping
Past perfect
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	had been sniping
Future
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	will be sniping
Future perfect
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	will have been sniping
> View Less