snare

Noun

1. A trap (especially one made from a loop of wire, string, or leather).
2. A mental or psychological trap.
3. A loop of cord used in obstetric cases, to hold or to pull a fetus from the mother animal.
4. A similar looped instrument formerly used to remove tumours etc.
5. A set of stiff wires held under tension against the bottom head of a drum to create a rattling sound.
6. A snare drum.

Verb

1. (transitive) To catch or hold, especially with a loop.
2. (figuratively, transitive) To ensnare.
3. (intransitive, transitive, uncommon) To play (a snare drum, or a beat on or as if on a snare drum).

Pronounced as (IPA)

/snɛ(ə)ɹ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: snare

Inherited from Old English: snearu

Cognate with Old Norse: snara

In summary

From Middle English snare, from Old English snearu (“snare, noose”), from Proto-West Germanic *snarhā, from Proto-Germanic *snarhǭ (“a sling; loop; noose”). Cognate with Old Norse snara. Also related to German Schnur and Dutch snaar, snoer.

Synonyms

trap

🪤

noose

pitfall

ensnare

entrap

gin

net

hook

🪝

catch

loop

➿

springe

trammel

booby-trap

mesh

bird snare

sling

snare drum

capture

lure

decoy

side drum

lasso

quagmire

enmesh

contain

tangle

hunt

trick

corner

toils

booby trap

fish

🐟

pit

take

thread

🧵

toil

track down

trawl

trickster

web

wile

yarn

🧶

fall into a trap

anything used for tying things

be hold of

caught in a spring trap

place a snare

spring-trap

bargaining chip

triek