- Snap
- Snap Snap, n. [Cf. D. snap a snatching. See {Snap}, v. t.]
1. A sudden breaking or rupture of any substance.
[1913 Webster]
2. A sudden, eager bite; a sudden seizing, or effort to seize, as with the teeth. [1913 Webster]
3. A sudden, sharp motion or blow, as with the finger sprung from the thumb, or the thumb from the finger. [1913 Webster]
4. A sharp, abrupt sound, as that made by the crack of a whip; as, the snap of the trigger of a gun. [1913 Webster]
5. A greedy fellow. --L'Estrange. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
He's a nimble fellow, And alike skilled in every liberal science, As having certain snaps of all. --B. Jonson. [1913 Webster]
7. A sudden severe interval or spell; -- applied to the weather; as, a cold snap. --Lowell. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
9. (Zo["o]l.) A snap beetle. [1913 Webster]
10. A thin, crisp cake, usually small, and flavored with ginger; -- used chiefly in the plural. [1913 Webster]
11. Briskness; vigor; energy; decision. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster]
12. Any circumstance out of which money may be made or an advantage gained. [Slang] [1913 Webster]
13. Any task, labor, set of circumstances, or the like, that yields satisfactory results or gives pleasure with little trouble or effort, as an easy course of study, a job where work is light, a bargain, etc. [Slang, Chiefly U. S.] [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
14. A snap shot with a firearm. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
15. (Photog.) A snapshot. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
16. Something of no value; as, not worth a snap. [Colloq.] [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
17. (Football) The action of snapping the ball back, from the center usu. to the quarterback, which commences the play (down), and, if the clock had stopped, restarts the timer clock; a {snap back}. [PJC]
{Snap back} (Football), the act of snapping back the ball.
{Snap beetle}, or {Snap bug} (Zo["o]l.), any beetle of the family {Elaterid[ae]}, 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. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.