What does "snare" mean?
A trap (especially one made from a loop of wire, string, or leather).
Snare
/snɛ(ə)ɹ/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A trap (especially one made from a loop of wire, string, or leather).
- Grammar: snare is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: snare drum, trap, abstract, allure.
- Useful contrasts: escape, free, freedom.
- Usage evidence: A fox is not caught twice in the same snare.
How to use "snare"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "snare" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "snare" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "snare" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "snare" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "snare" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "snare drum" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "snare", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A trap (especially one made from a loop of wire, string, or leather).
"He […] watched Beavis’s long-toothed mouth open and clap to like a rabbit snare."
- 2 Any of a class of proteins whose primary role is to mediate vesicle fusion.
- 3 a trap for birds or small mammals; often has a slip noose wordnet
- 4 A mental or psychological trap.
"If thou retire, the Dauphin, well appointed, Stands with the snares of war to tangle thee:"
- 5 strings stretched across the lower head of a snare drum; they make a rattling sound when the drum is hit wordnet
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 A loop of cord used in obstetric cases, to hold or to pull a fetus from the mother animal.
- 7 a surgical instrument consisting of wire hoop that can be drawn tight around the base of polyps or small tumors to sever them; used especially in body cavities wordnet
- 8 A similar looped instrument formerly used to remove tumours etc.
- 9 a small drum with two heads and a snare stretched across the lower head wordnet
- 10 A set of stiff wires held under tension against the bottom head of a drum to create a rattling sound.
- 11 something (often something deceptively attractive) that catches you unawares wordnet
- 12 A snare drum.
Verb
- 1 To catch or hold, especially with a loop. transitive
"The mournful crocodile / With sorrow snares relenting passengers."
- 2 entice and trap wordnet
- 3 To ensnare. figuratively, transitive
- 4 catch in or as if in a trap wordnet
- 5 To play (a snare drum, or a beat on or as if on a snare drum). intransitive, transitive, uncommon
"[…] the slightest recollection of hearing the wind whistling through the cracks in the old house or the rain snaring its tat-a-tat on the rusty tin roof."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"A fox is not caught twice in the same snare."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "snare"?
Common synonyms include: snare drum, trap, abstract, allure, allurement, ambuscade.
How do you use "snare" in a sentence?
A fox is not caught twice in the same snare.
How do you pronounce "snare"?
Pronounced /snɛ(ə)ɹ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English snare, from Old English sneare (“snare, noose”), from Proto-West Germanic *snarhā, from Proto-Germanic *snarhǭ (“a sling; loop; noose”). Cognate with Old Norse snara. Also related to German Schnur and Dutch snaar, snoer.
Etymology 2
* As a Norwegian surname, from several farms whose name derive from snar (“thicket, brushwood”), perhaps related to Old Norse snarpr (“coarse, rough, sharp”). * As an English surname, variant of Snarr.
Etymology 3
Short for SNAP receptor.