snipe

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Verb (intransitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

snipe, n. [OE. snipe; akin to D. snep, snip, LG. sneppe, snippe, G. schnepfe, Icel. snīpa (in comp.), Dan. sneppe, Sw. snäppa a sanpiper, and possibly to E. snap. See Snap, Snaffle.].

•  Any one of numerous species of limicoline game birds of the family Scolopacidæ, having a long, slender, nearly straight beak.  [1913 Webster]

  " The common, or whole, snipe (Gallinago c) and the great, or double, snipe (G. major), are the most important European species. The Wilson's snipe (G. delicata) (sometimes erroneously called English snipe) and the gray snipe, or dowitcher (Macrohamphus griseus), are well-known American species."  [1913 Webster]
•  A fool; a blockhead.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]

Half snipe, the dunlin; the jacksnipe. -- Jack snipe. See Jacksnipe. -- Quail snipe. See under Quail. -- Robin snipe, the knot. -- Sea snipe. See in the Vocabulary. -- Shore snipe, any sandpiper. -- Snipe hawk, the marsh harrier. [Prov. Eng.] -- Stone snipe, the tattler. -- Summer snipe, the dunlin; the green and the common European sandpipers. -- Winter snipe. See Rock snipe, under Rock. -- Woodcock snipe, the great snipe.

snipe, v. i. 

•  To shoot or hunt snipe.  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
•  To shoot at detached men of an enemy's forces at long range, esp. when not in action; -- often with at.  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

snipe at, to aim petty or snide criticisms at (a person) in his absence.

snipe, v. t. 

•  To shoot at (detached men of an enemy's force) at long range, esp. when not in action.  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
•  To nose (a log) to make it drag or slip easily in skidding.  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

snipe, n. & v.
--n. (pl. same or snipes) any of various wading birds, esp. of the genus Gallinago, with a long straight bill and frequenting marshes.
--v.
1 intr. fire shots from hiding usu. at long range.
2 tr. kill by sniping.
3 intr. (foll. by at) make a sly critical attack.
4 intr. go snipe-shooting.

Idiom

snipe eel any eel of the family Nemichthyidae, having a long slender snout. snipe fish any marine fish of the family Macrorhamphosidae, with a long slender snout.

Derivative

sniper n.

Etymology

ME, prob. f. Scand.: cf. Icel. m|risn{iacute}pa, & MDu., MLG snippe, OHG snepfa

THESAURUS

snipe

aim at, attack, barrage, blast, blitz, bombard, cannon, cannonade, carp at, charge, cock, commence firing, criticize, deride, detonate, discharge, drop, eject, enfilade, fell, fire, fire a volley, fire at, fire off, fire upon, fusillade, gun, gun for, hit, knock, let fly, let off, load, mortar, open fire, open up on, pan, pelt, pepper, pick off, pistol, plug, pop at, pot, potshoot, potshot, prime, rake, rap, riddle, shell, shoot, shoot at, shoot down, slam, snipe at, strafe, strike, take a potshot, take aim at, torpedo, zero in on

ROGET THESAURUS

snipe

Animal

N animal, animal kingdom, fauna, brute creation, beast, brute, creature, critter, wight, created being, creeping thing, living thing, dumb animal, dumb creature, zoophyte, mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, crustacean, shellfish, mollusk, worm, insect, arthropod, microbe, microbe, animalcule, alligator, crocodile, saurian, dinosaur (extinct), snake, serpent, viper, eft, asp, aspick, frog, toad, trout, bass, tuna, muskelunge, sailfish, sardine, mackerel, ant, mosquito, bee, honeybee, tardigrade, spider, biped, quadruped, webfoot, flocks and herds, live stock, domestic animals, wild animals, game, ferae naturae, beasts of the field, fowls of the air, denizens of the sea, black game, black grouse, blackcock, duck, grouse, plover, rail, snipe, horse, cattle, kine, ox, bull, bullock, cow, milch cow, calf, heifer, shorthorn, sheep, lamb, lambkin, ewe, ram, tup, pig, swine, boar, hog, sow, steer, stot, tag, teg, bison, buffalo, yak, zebu, dog, cat, dog, hound, pup, puppy, whelp, cur, mongrel, house dog, watch dog, sheep dog, shepherd's dog, sporting dog, fancy dog, lap dog, toy dog, bull dog, badger dog, mastiff, blood hound, grey hound, stag hound, deer hound, fox hound, otter hound, harrier, beagle, spaniel, pointer, setter, retriever, Newfoundland, water dog, water spaniel, pug, poodle, turnspit, terrier, fox terrier, Skye terrier, Dandie Dinmont, collie, feline, puss, pussy, grimalkin, gib cat, tom cat, fox, Reynard, vixen, stag, deer, hart, buck, doe, roe, caribou, coyote, elk, moose, musk ox, sambar, bird, poultry, fowl, cock, hen, chicken, chanticleer, partlet, rooster, dunghill cock, barn door fowl, feathered tribes, feathered songster, singing bird, dicky bird, canary, warbler, finch, aberdevine, cushat, cygnet, ringdove, siskin, swan, wood pigeon, vermin, varmint, pest, animal, zoological equine, bovine, vaccine, canine, feline, fishy, piscatory, piscatorial, molluscous, vermicular, gallinaceous, rasorial, solidungulate, soliped.