snicker

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsnɪk.ə(ɹ)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈsnɪkɚ/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪkə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

US variant of the British snigger, possibly of onomatopoeic origin, similar to Dutch snikken (“to gasp; sob”). The noun is first recorded 1836, from the verb. Compare also Scottish smicker (“to smile or laugh in a sniggering or leery way, smirk”). More at smicker.

Alternative forms

• snigger

Noun

snicker (plural snickers)

1. A stifled or broken laugh.

Derived terms

• snicker licker

Translations

stifled laugh

Bulgarian: подсмиване (bg) n (podsmivane), хихикане (bg) n (hihikane) Czech: hihňání n, pochechtávání n Finnish: hihitys (fi) French: ricanement (fr) m German: Kichern (de) n, Gekicher (de) n Italian: risatina (it) f Polish: chichot (pl) m Spanish: risita f Swedish: fniss (sv) Tagalog: hagikgik Turkish: kişneme (tr) Russian: хихиканье (ru) (xixikanʹje), смешок (ru) (smešok), сдавленный смех (sdavlennyj smex)

Verb

snicker (third-person singular simple present snickers, present participle snickering, simple past and past participle snickered)

1. (intransitive) To emit a snicker, a stifled or broken laugh.
   • 1915 June, T[homas] S[tearns] Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, in Prufrock and Other Observations, London: The Egoist […], published 1917, →OCLC, page 13:

     I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, / And in short, I was afraid.

2. (transitive) To utter through a laugh of this kind.
4. (of a horse) To whinny.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:laugh

Translations

to emit a snicker

Bulgarian: хихикам (bg) (hihikam), подсмивам се (podsmivam se) Czech: hihňat se impf, pochechtávat se impf Esperanto: klukridi Finnish: hihittää (fi) French: ricaner (fr) German: kichern (de) Polish: chichotać (pl) Portuguese: casquinar Romanian: chicoti (ro) Spanish: reír disimuladamente Swedish: fnissa (sv) Tagalog: hagikgik, humagikgik Turkish: kıs kıs gülmek, kişnemek (tr)

Etymology 2

From snick +‎ -er.

Noun

snicker (plural snickers)

1. (cricket, rare) A player who snicks the ball.

See also

• snicker-snack

Anagrams

• Kincers, Renicks, Resnick, nickers