• Snag

    Pronunciation

    • Canada IPA: /ˈsnæɡ/
    • Rhymes: -æɡ

    Origin 1

    From Old Norse snagi ("clothes peg").

    Full definition of snag

    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.
      • DrydenThe 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 rest; a broken or decayed tooth.
    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.
      • Wodehouse Offing|XII|The snag in this business of falling in love, aged relative, is that the parties of the first part so often get mixed up with the wrong parties of the second part, robbed of their cooler judgment by the parties of the second part's glamour.
    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

    Verb

    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. (UK, dialect) To cut the snags or branches from, as the stem of a tree; to hew roughly.

    Origin 2

    Noun

    snag

    (plural snags)
    1. (UK, dialect, obsolete) A light meal.
    2. (Australia, informal, colloquial) A sausage. From 1941.

    Synonyms

    • (sausage) banger UK, Australia

    Origin 3

    Noun

    snag

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

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