snap at

Friendly

Definition of "Snap At"

The phrase "snap at" is a verb that means to quickly bite or try to bite something or someone. It can also refer to speaking sharply or angrily to someone.

Basic Usage

1. Literal Meaning: When an animal, like a dog, quickly bites at something.

   • Example: The dog snapped at the ball as it rolled past.

2. Figurative Meaning: When a person responds to someone in a quick and angry way.

   • Example: She snapped at her friend when he interrupted her.

Usage Instructions

• Use "snap at" when you want to describe a quick, often aggressive action, whether it's a dog trying to bite or a person responding harshly.
• Usually, the context will make it clear if you are talking about a physical action or a verbal reaction.

Advanced Usage

• You can use "snap at" in different tenses:
  • Present: He snaps at his coworkers whenever he's stressed.
  • Past: She snapped at her brother during the argument.
  • Future: If you keep bothering him, he might snap at you.

Word Variants

• Snap (verb): The base form.
• Snapped (past tense): The action has already happened.
• Snapping (gerund): Describes the action in progress.

Different Meanings

• Snap can also mean to break suddenly (like a twig snapping), or to take a quick photograph (like snapping a picture).

Synonyms

• Bite at (for the literal meaning)
• Bark at (for the figurative meaning)
• Snarl at (for an angry response)

Idioms and Phrasal Verbs

• Snap out of it: To stop being sad or upset and start acting normally.
• Snap back: To reply quickly, often in a rude or angry way.

Example Sentences

1. Literal: The cat snapped at the toy mouse, trying to catch it.
2. Figurative: When I asked her about her day, she snapped at me, saying she was too busy to talk.

Conclusion

"Snap at" is a useful expression to describe both aggressive actions and sharp responses.

Academic

Verb

1. bite off with a quick bite
   • The dog snapped off a piece of cloth from the intruder's pants

Synonyms

• bite off