What does "snood" mean?
A band or ribbon for keeping the hair in place, including the hair-band formerly worn in Scotland and northern England by young unmarried women.
Snood
/snuːd/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A band or ribbon for keeping the hair in place, including the hair-band formerly worn in Scotland and northern England by young unmarried women.
- Grammar: snood is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: cap, drapery, hat.
- Usage evidence: To a superstitious eye, Lucy Ashton, folded in her plaided mantle, with her long hair, escaping partly from the snood and falling upon her silver neck, might have suggested the idea of the murdered Nymph of the fountain.
How to use "snood"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "snood" 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 "snood" 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 "snood" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "snood" 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 "snood" is acting as 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 "cap" 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 "snood", 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 band or ribbon for keeping the hair in place, including the hair-band formerly worn in Scotland and northern England by young unmarried women.
"“Frida [...] tied her hair in the Grecian snood which her lover used to admire so.”"
- 2 an ornamental net in the shape of a bag that confines a woman's hair; pins or ties at the back of the head wordnet
- 3 A small hairnet or cap worn by women to keep their hair in place.
"And seldom was a snood amid / Such wild, luxuriant ringlets hid."
- 4 The flap of erectile red skin on the beak of a male turkey.
"A fingerlike projection called a snood hangs over the front of the beak. When the tom is alert, the snood constricts and projects vertically as a fleshy bump at the top rear of the beak."
- 5 A short line of horsehair, gut, monofilament, etc., by which a fishhook is attached to a longer (and usually heavier) line; a snell.
Show 1 more definition
- 6 A piece of clothing to keep the neck warm; neckwarmer.
Verb
- 1 To keep the hair in place with a snood.
"Janet has kilted her green kirtle A little aboon her knee, And she has snooded her yellow hair"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"To a superstitious eye, Lucy Ashton, folded in her plaided mantle, with her long hair, escaping partly from the snood and falling upon her silver neck, might have suggested the idea of the murdered Nymph of the fountain."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "snood"?
Common synonyms include: cap, drapery, hat.
How do you use "snood" in a sentence?
To a superstitious eye, Lucy Ashton, folded in her plaided mantle, with her long hair, escaping partly from the snood and falling upon her silver neck, might have suggested the idea of the murdered Nymph of the fountain.
How do you pronounce "snood"?
Pronounced /snuːd/.
Etymology
From Middle English snod, from Old English snōd (“headdress, fillet, snood”), from Proto-West Germanic *snōdu, from Proto-Germanic *snōdō (“rope, string”), from Proto-Indo-European *snoh₁téh₂ (“yarn, thread”), from *sneh₁(i)- (“to twist, wind, weave, plait”). Cognate with Scots snuid (“snood”), Swedish snod, snodd (“twist, twine”). Compare also Old Saxon snōva (“necklace”), Old Norse snúa (“to turn, twist”), snúðr (“a twist, twirl”), English needle.