snipe

Meaning

Noun

1. Any of various limicoline game birds of the genera Gallinago, Lymnocryptes and Coenocorypha in the family Scolopacidae, having a long, slender, nearly straight beak.
2. A fool; a blockhead.
3. A shot fired from a concealed place.
4. (slang) A member of the engineering department on a ship.
5. (slang) A goal.

Verb

1. (intransitive) To hunt snipe.
2. (intransitive) To shoot at individuals from a concealed place.
3. (broadly, intransitive) To shoot with a sniper rifle.
4. (transitive) To watch a timed online auction and place a winning bid against (the current high bidder) at the last possible moment.
5. (transitive) To nose (a log) to make it drag or slip easily in skidding.
6. (slang) To score a goal.
7. To move the ball quickly in a different direction.

Verb

1. (intransitive) To make malicious, underhand remarks or attacks.
2. (transitive) To attach a note or sticker to (an existing poster) to provide further information, political criticism, etc.

Synonyms

woodcock

shoot

common snipe

sharpshoot

kingfisher

assail

long bill

needle

pick off

pilfer

quip

rag

round

vituperate

waylay

lash out

Eurasian woodcock

abuse

ambush

come the acid

a pair of scissors

assault

attack

👊

get at

gibe

Translations

bécassine

Schnepfe

agachadiza

snip

watersnip

Bekassine

beccaccia

beccaccino

agachona

becadell

Gallinago gallinago

narceja

becacina

Pronounced as (IPA)

/snaɪp/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: snipe

Cognate with Norwegian: snipe

In summary

From Middle English snipe, snype (a type of bird), from Old Norse snípa, as in mýrisnípa (“moor snipe”). Akin to Norwegian snipe.
The verb originated in the 1770s among soldiers in British India where a hunter skilled enough to kill the elusive snipe was dubbed a "sniper". The term sniper was first attested in 1824 in the sense of the word "sharpshooter".