Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Snag

Snag

,
Noun.
[Prov. E., n., a lump on a tree where a branch has been cut off; v., to cut off the twigs and small branches from a tree, of Celtic origin; cf. Gael.
snaigh
,
snaidh
, to cut down, to prune, to sharpen, p. p.
snaighte
,
snaidhte
, cut off, lopped, Ir.
snaigh
a hewing, cutting.]
1.
A stump or base of a branch that has been lopped off; a short branch, or a sharp or rough branch; a knot; a protuberance.
The coat of arms
Now on a naked
snag
in triumph borne.
Dryden.
2.
A tooth projecting beyond the rest; contemptuously, a broken or decayed tooth.
Prior.
3.
A tree, or a branch of a tree, fixed in the bottom of a river or other navigable water, and rising nearly or quite to the surface, by which boats are sometimes pierced and sunk.
4.
(Zool.)
One of the secondary branches of an antler.
Snag boat
,
a steamboat fitted with apparatus for removing snags and other obstructions in navigable streams.
[U.S.]
Snag tooth
.
Same as
Snag
, 2.
How thy
snag teeth
stand orderly,
Like stakes which strut by the water side.
J. Cotgrave.

Snag

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Snagged
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Snagging
.]
1.
To cut the snags or branches from, as the stem of a tree; to hew roughly.
[Prov. Eng.]
Halliwell.
2.
To injure or destroy, as a steamboat or other vessel, by a snag, or projecting part of a sunken tree.
[U. S.]

Webster 1828 Edition


Snag

SNAG

, n.
1.
A short branch, or a sharp or rough branch; a shoot; a knot. The coat of arms now on a naked snag in triumph borne.
2.
A tooth, in contempt; or a tooth projecting beyond the rest.

Definition 2024


snag

snag

English

Noun

snag (plural snags)

  1. A stump or base of a branch that has been lopped off; a short branch, or a sharp or rough branch; a knot; a protuberance.
    • Dryden
      The coat of arms / Now on a naked snag in triumph borne.
  2. Any sharp protuberant part of an object, which may catch, scratch, or tear other objects brought into contact with it.
  3. A tooth projecting beyond the others; a broken or decayed tooth.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Prior to this entry?)
  4. A tree, or a branch of a tree, fixed in the bottom of a river or other navigable water, and rising nearly or quite to the surface, by which boats are sometimes pierced and sunk.
  5. (figuratively) A problem or difficulty with something.
  6. A pulled thread or yarn, as in cloth.
  7. One of the secondary branches of an antler.
Synonyms
  • (problem or difficulty): hitch
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

snag (third-person singular simple present snags, present participle snagging, simple past and past participle snagged)

  1. To catch or tear (e.g. fabric) upon a rough surface or projection.
    Be careful not to snag your stockings on that concrete bench!
  2. (fishing) To fish by means of dragging a large hook or hooks on a line, intending to impale the body (rather than the mouth) of the target.
    We snagged for spoonbill from the eastern shore of the Mississippi river.
  3. (slang) To obtain or pick up (something).
    Ella snagged a bottle of water from the fridge before leaving for her jog.
  4. (Britain, dialect) To cut the snags or branches from, as the stem of a tree; to hew roughly.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Halliwell to this entry?)
Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

snag (plural snags)

  1. (Britain, dialect, obsolete) A light meal.
  2. (Australia, informal, colloquial) A sausage. [From 1941.]
    • 2005, Peter Docker, Someone Else′s Country, 2010, ReadHowYouWant, page 116,
      I fire up the barbie and start cooking snags.
    • 2007, Jim Ford, Don't Worry, Be Happy: Beijing to Bombay with a Backpack, page 196,
      ‘You can get the chooks and snags from the fridge if you want,’ he replied.
      I smiled, remembering my bewilderment upon receiving exactly the same command at my very first barbecue back in Sydney a month after I′d first arrived.
    • 2010, Fiona Wallace, Sense and Celebrity, page 25,
      ‘Hungry? We′ve got plenty of roo,’ one of the men said as she walked up. He pointed with his spatula, ‘and pig snags, cow snags, beef and chicken.’
Synonyms
  • (sausage): banger (UK, Australia)
Translations

Etymology 3

Noun

snag (plural snags)

  1. A misnaged, an opponent to Chassidic Judaism (more likely modern, for cultural reasons).

Anagrams


Irish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /sˠn̪ˠaɡ/

Etymology 1

Noun

snag m (genitive singular snaga, nominative plural snaganna)

  1. a catch (hesitation in voice), gasp, sob
  2. a lull (period of rest)
Declension
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Noun

snag m (genitive singular snaga, nominative plural snaganna)

  1. a treecreeper (bird of the family Certhiidae)
Declension
Derived terms

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
snag shnag
after an, tsnag
unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Scottish Gaelic

Noun

snag f (genitive singular snaige, plural snagan)

  1. sharp knock (sound)

Derived terms