Definition

1. Verb:

   • To reject, ignore, or treat with deliberate disrespect or contempt, especially by failing to acknowledge someone's presence or offer.
   • To check or stop (a rope or cable) suddenly.

2. Noun:

   • An act of snubbing; a blunt or disdainful rejection, especially a slight or insult by ignoring someone.
   • A sudden checking of a rope or cable, as on a winch.

3. Adjective:

   • (Of a nose) short and turned up at the end; retroussé.

Usage and Examples

• Verb:

  • She felt hurt when her colleague snubbed her in the hallway.
  • The celebrity snubbed the reporter's question and walked away.
  • The sailor snubbed the line around the cleat to secure the boat.

• Noun:

  • His failure to receive an invitation was seen as a deliberate snub.
  • She took his silence as a snub and left the party early.

• Adjective:

  • He has a distinctive snub nose and a friendly smile.

Advanced Usage

• "to snub one's nose at": An idiomatic expression meaning to show contempt or disregard for something, often rules or conventions. (Note: This is a set phrase using the word 'snub').
  • The company snubbed its nose at environmental regulations.

Variants and Related Words

• Snubber (n): A device for checking or absorbing shock, especially on a rope, cable, or electrical circuit.
• Snub-nosed (adj): Having a snub nose. Often used to describe animals (e.g., a snub-nosed monkey) or objects (e.g., a snub-nosed revolver).

Synonyms

• Verb: Ignore, slight, rebuff, cold-shoulder, cut, disdain, spurn.
• Noun: Insult, affront, slight, rebuff, cold shoulder.
• Adjective: Retroussé, upturned, blunt.

Related Phrasal Verbs / Constructions

• Snub out: While "snuff out" is more common, "snub out" can be used to mean extinguishing something, like a cigarette. (Note: This is a less common variant).
  • He snubbed out his cigarette before entering the building.

Related Idioms

• To give someone the cold shoulder: To intentionally ignore or be unfriendly to someone (a close synonym for the verb 'to snub').
• To cut someone dead: To completely ignore someone you know, as if they do not exist (a direct synonym for one meaning of 'to snub').

Adjective

1. unusually short
   • a snub nose

Noun

1. a refusal to recognize someone you know
   • the snub was clearly intentional
2. an instance of driving away or warding off

Verb

1. reject outright and bluntly
   • She snubbed his proposal
2. refuse to acknowledge
   • She cut him dead at the meeting