Definition

1. Noun:

   • A sound made by forcing breath out through the nose: A short, explosive sound produced by a person or animal, often to express strong emotion like contempt, amusement, or irritation.
   • An act of inhaling a substance through the nose: The act of inhaling a drug, typically in powdered form, through the nostrils.

2. Verb:

   • To make a snorting sound: To exhale or inhale noisily and forcefully through the nose, often as an expression of derision, disgust, or laughter.
   • To inhale (a drug) through the nose: To ingest a substance, especially an illicit drug in powder form, by inhaling it through the nostrils.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • He gave a loud snort of derision during the speech.
  • The horse's snort echoed in the stable.
  • One snort of the powerful drug was enough to cause an overdose.

• Verb:

  • The audience snorted with laughter at the comedian's joke.
  • "Ridiculous!" she snorted, turning away in disgust.
  • He was arrested for snorting cocaine at the party.

Advanced Usage

• "to snort something up": To inhale a substance, especially a drug, through the nose completely.

  • He snorted the entire line up in seconds.

• "to snort at something/someone": To express contempt or scorn for something or someone by making a snorting sound.

  • She just snorted at my suggestion and refused to discuss it further.

Variants and Related Words

• Snorter (noun): A person or thing that snorts. Informally, it can also mean something remarkable or severe.
  • That storm was a real snorter.

Synonyms

• Noun (for sound): Grunt, huff, scoff.
• Verb (to make sound): Chortle, scoff, huff.
• Verb (to inhale drug): Inhale, toot (slang).

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Snort out: To expel something, like air or a sound, forcefully through the nose.
  • The engine snorted out a cloud of black smoke.

Related Idioms

• "to snort with laughter": To laugh in a loud, often derisive or uncontrollable manner, making a snorting sound.

  • The joke was so silly, I just snorted with laughter.

• "to pay a king's ransom/small fortune for a snort": (Informal, hyperbolic) Used to emphasize the high cost of an illicit drug.

  • He's paying a king's ransom for a snort of that stuff.

Noun

1. a cry or noise made to express displeasure or contempt
2. a disrespectful laugh

Verb

1. inhale through the nose
2. inhale recreational drugs
   • The addict was snorting cocaine almost every day
   • the kids were huffing glue
3. make a snorting sound by exhaling hard
   • The critic snorted contemptuously
4. indicate contempt by breathing noisily and forcefully through the nose
   • she snorted her disapproval of the proposed bridegroom