common snipe

noun

See under snipe(def 1).

Words nearby common snipe

common scold, common seal, common sennit, common sense, common situs picketing, common snipe, common stock, common sulfur, common tannin, common tern, common time

Definition for common snipe (2 of 2)

snipe
[ snahyp ]
/ snaɪp /

noun, plural snipes, (especially collectively) snipe for 1, 2.

any of several long-billed game birds of the genera Gallinago (Capella) and Limnocryptes, inhabiting marshy areas, as G. gallinago (common snipe), of Eurasia and North America, having barred and striped white, brown, and black plumage.
any of several other long-billed birds, as some sandpipers.
a shot, usually from a hidden position.

verb (used without object), sniped, snip·ing.

to shoot or hunt snipe.
to shoot at individuals as opportunity offers from a concealed or distant position: The enemy was sniping from the roofs.
to attack a person or a person's work with petulant or snide criticism, especially anonymously or from a safe distance.

Origin of snipe

1275–1325; Middle English snype (noun) < Old Norse -snīpa (in mȳrisnīpa moor snipe); cognate with Norwegian snipa, Icelandic snīpa; compare Danish sneppe, German Schnepfe

OTHER WORDS FROM snipe

snipe·like, adjective snip·er, noun coun·ter·snip·er, noun

British Dictionary definitions for common snipe

snipe
/ (snaɪp) /

noun plural snipe or snipes

any of various birds of the genus Gallinago (or Capella) and related genera, such as G. gallinago (common or Wilson's snipe), of marshes and river banks, having a long straight bill: family Scolopacidae (sandpipers, etc), order Charadriiformes
any of various similar related birds, such as certain sandpipers and curlews
a shot, esp a gunshot, fired from a place of concealment

verb

(when intr, often foll by at) to attack (a person or persons) with a rifle from a place of concealment
(intr often foll by at) to criticize adversely a person or persons from a position of security
(intr) to hunt or shoot snipe

Derived forms of snipe

snipelike, adjective

Word Origin for snipe

C14: from Old Norse snīpa; related to Old High German snepfa Middle Dutch snippe