(~s, ~ping, ~ped)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
If something ~s or if you ~ it, it breaks suddenly, usually with a sharp cracking noise.
He shifted his weight and a twig ~ped...
The brake pedal had just ~ped off...
She gripped the pipe with both hands, trying to ~ it in half.
VERB: V, V adv/prep, V n adv/prep, also V n
•
Snap is also a noun.
Every minute or so I could hear a ~, a crack and a crash as another tree went down.
N-SING
2.
If you ~ something into a particular position, or if it ~s into that position, it moves quickly into that position, with a sharp sound.
He ~ped the notebook shut...
The bag ~ped open.
VERB: V n adv/prep, V adv
•
Snap is also a noun.
He shut the book with a ~ and stood up.
N-SING
3.
If you ~ your fingers, you make a sharp sound by moving your middle finger quickly across your thumb, for example in order to accompany music or to order someone to do something.
She had millions of listeners ~ping their fingers to her first single...
= click
VERB: V n
•
Snap is also a noun.
I could obtain with the ~ of my fingers anything I chose.
N-SING: N of n
4.
If someone ~s at you, they speak to you in a sharp, unfriendly way.
‘Of course I don’t know her,’ Roger ~ped...
I’m sorry, Casey, I didn’t mean to ~ at you like that.
VERB: V with quote, V at n
5.
If someone ~s, or if something ~s inside them, they suddenly stop being calm and become very angry because the situation has become too tense or too difficult for them.
He finally ~ped when she prevented their children from visiting him one weekend...
VERB: V
6.
If an animal such as a dog ~s at you, it opens and shuts its jaws quickly near you, as if it were going to bite you.
His teeth clicked as he ~ped at my ankle...
The poodle yapped and ~ped.
VERB: V at n, V
7.
A ~ decision or action is one that is taken suddenly, often without careful thought.
I think this is too important for a ~ decision...
ADJ: ADJ n
8.
A ~ is a photograph. (INFORMAL)
...a ~ my mother took last year.
= photo
N-COUNT
9.
If you ~ someone or something, you take a photograph of them. (INFORMAL)
He was the first ever non-British photographer to be invited to ~ a royal.
= photograph
VERB: V n
10.
see also cold ~