I. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a cold snap (= a short period of very cold weather )
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There had been a sudden cold snap just after Christmas.
a snap decision (= one that you make extremely quickly )
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Police officers often have to make snap decisions on how to act.
a snap judgment (= made quickly )
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In my business, I often have to make snap judgments about people.
cold snap
pick up/snap up a bargain (= find one )
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You can often pick up a bargain at an auction.
sb's patience snaps (= they suddenly show their anger )
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Celia's patience snapped when he dropped a second glass of wine on the carpet.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
back
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His opponent's head snapped back over the edge of the drop and was still.
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Since then, my head has snapped back fast enough to get a serious case of whiplash.
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She'd have done better to snap back at him the way he'd snapped at her!
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The first few days, even the first week, can be very disorienting, and then things snap back into focus.
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Though depressed, they may snap back when least expected.
off
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He snapped off a shot, hardly even bothering to point the gun before he squeezed the trigger.
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There was an available seat, a metal kitchen chair with its back snapped off .
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And then, finally, he would have snapped off their arms and legs and used their torsos for planting geraniums.
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Screams rang out in some hallways when the lights snapped off .
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The light trained on his bed snaps off .
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I reacted so fast that our Huey snapped off the ground.
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Margaret and Jack Carolan, from Huyton, had sneaked a camera inside and were snapping off shots as keepsakes.
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They either snap off in the middle or just fall over of their own weight.
open
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He shouted for the doors to be opened and of course they snapped open as usual.
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She snapped open her handbag blindly with a sense of gathering panic.
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Then the Prophet's eyes snapped open again and the pleading was gone.
together
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Take care with the magnets by the way, as allowing them to snap together causes them to break.
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He felt yet another ingredient must be missing which prevented a living system from snapping together .
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She saw his face change, his brows snap together .
up
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It shot ahead by more than 34 points to a new all-time peak of 2842.0 with buyers snapping up anything that moved.
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Sometimes during a science test, his head would snap up as quickly as if he had a sudden toothache.
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Free-market reforms have nurtured a burgeoning middle class and even some super rich, both snapping up the latest in electronics.
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House for £1 deposit FIRST-TIME buyers are queueing to snap up homes for a £1 down-payment.
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Margaret Thatcher's governments encouraged the old nationalised industries to sell derelict sites which retailers snapped up for building superstores.
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Because of its popularity, many of the association's new homes have already been snapped up .
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He always laughed noiselessly, his jaw snapping up and down as he took in great gulps of air.
■ NOUN
attention
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Each man would snap smartly to attention and then they would climb aboard the fire engine and ride through the town.
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We were soaking in this scenery when we were snapped back to attention by an approaching rapid.
finger
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Those riverbeds could snap an axle as crisply as the way that Zervos snapped his fingers when he danced.
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I snapped my finger in front of his eyes, and a trance was broken.
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He relished the image, saw it clearly, felt the tendons on Carter's neck snapping under his fingers .
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One of the guys snaps his fingers , and the nearest workman veers in a sharp turn and sprints to his side.
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He snapped his fingers at the barmaid and ordered a brandy.
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Five minutes into the First Act Dotty Blundell forgot her lines and snapped her fingers for a prompt.
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Zak was nodding his mop of curls beside me and had begun snapping his fingers rather fast.
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He gave a royal snort, either of disappointment or relief, and snapped his fingers for another round of wine.
head
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His opponent's head snapped back over the edge of the drop and was still.
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Since then, my head has snapped back fast enough to get a serious case of whiplash.
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And Nurse Cohen above him, her head snapped back by a blow and the blood splintering from it.
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His head snapped violently and twisted to follow it, as though it had tethered him, looped around his neck.
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Suddenly Satan's head snapped up, ears erect.
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Cocking her head , she snapped the fan shut and pointed it at him.
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As a player Souness has a highly flammable temper; when he loses the head , something snaps .
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Pricey stopped with a jolt, his head snapped back, his jaw snapped shut.
heel
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It's touted as the cheaper alternative to Photoshop, and is snapping at the heels of the industry benchmark.
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I've the problems of the world on my shoulders and the Captain snapping at my heels .
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As night fell the Empire army was in full retreat with wolf riders snapping at their heels .
patience
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His patience snapped with the vodka advert.
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I held Jack, and together we smiled at the camera. Patience snapped the shutter.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
bite/snap sb's head off
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A geek is a carnival performer who bites the heads off live chickens and snakes.
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He had no right to bite the head off one of his staunchest friends.
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I could have bitten her head off.
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Just to bite their heads off.
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Not two minutes in his company and she was biting his head off.
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The gusts are becoming malevolent, snapping the heads off the waves like daisies.
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This Katherine bites the heads off rag-dolls and threatens her sister Bianca with a pair of pinking shears.
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You could trust him not to take the mickey, or to turn round and bite your head off.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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"Can't you see I'm eating?" Mattie snapped.
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A twig snapped under his foot.
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Charlotte's patience suddenly snapped.
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Cheaper versions are made of metal that could rust and snap .
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He accidentally snapped his putter in half during one tournament.
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He hit a rock and snapped the truck's axle.
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High winds snapped power lines in the city, leaving more than 9000 people without power.
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Leroy finally snapped and attacked his tormentors.
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Mel snapped a picture with his pocket camera.
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Melanie Smithson, who is accused of murdering her husband, has claimed that she snapped after years of violence and abuse.
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One of the strings on my guitar snapped when I was tuning it.
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Power lines snapped in the high winds.
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The cops snapped the handcuffs back onto the prisoner.
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The Rockets finally snapped a seven-game losing streak by defeating Portland.
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The tip of the Christmas tree snapped off when it fell.
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When he hit me across the face, I just snapped.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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And then holding the cigarette in front of his face he snapped the tip like some breaker of bread.
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As soon as the ball was snapped, I took off after them.
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As the pounding got louder and louder, suddenly Christine snapped.
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But the actors snap the movie back to life with sharply observed emotion.
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Her twig-thin legs seemed fit to snap .
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One hundred feet up it snapped into full canopy.
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Sliding them on to the desk, she snapped open her briefcase and took out her calculator.
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The nurse snapped her fingers, and they sprang into motion.
II. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ VERB
take
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Elvis Grbac took the snap , tucked his body into a tight C and dropped it into the end zone.
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To John, for taking the snaps , and to all the others for keeping us going with cups of tea.
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Mike took a snap out the window with the Kodak as we passed.
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Rookie Mike Cherry, who has never taken a snap in a regular-season game, will back him up.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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Did you take any snaps in Greece?
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Nick closed the lid with a snap .
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Patrick was showing his holiday snaps to everyone in the office.
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She showed me a snapshot of her three children.
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They're just snapshots, but some of them are really good.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Despite the cold snap , a white Christmas was an unlikely prospect for most people.
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Elvis Grbac took the snap , tucked his body into a tight C and dropped it into the end zone.
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Everyone is enormously excited and Kate and Paul keep the Polaroid snap of the Mango.
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Kirov chose another snap which he had taken at a pavement cafe in Tbilisi, bringing his final selection to four.
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Moreover, demand for heating oil did not meet expectations during the cold snaps over the last two months.
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The all important hip-consciousness of Manchester wholeheartedly jerked to the harsh snap of the Linn Drum.
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With the Jags, he cut the number down to 10 plays, to be run consecutively from the first snap .
III. adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
decision
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I will not make a snap decision , Lieutenant.
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I just made a snap decision that this was where I wanted to be.
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If the failure occurs higher on the launch, again a snap decision can be fatal.
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So his leave-taking is no snap decision .
election
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Henry McLeish also promised to address the deep disaffection among Labour backbenchers exposed by his snap election last weekend.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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Snap decisions are not always the best decisions.
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Usually she did not make snap judgements about people.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Lean away as you do this to avoid getting hit in the face with a snap punch.
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The cat stance is an ideal stance from which to execute a front snap kick.
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The Hercules features a Windstopper lined snap neck, two zipped waist pockets and stylish embroidery on the back and front.
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The jacket is in a smock style and has two zipped pockets and a snap neck closure.
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Then snap punch off the front fist into the opponent's face.
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Throw a fast snap punch at the opponent's face.
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Warm frustration had turned cold rage, a snap freeze.
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You make quick, almost snap , judgments.