SNAG (snagged, snagging)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: snagged    , snagging   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does snag mean? 

• SNAG (noun)
  The noun SNAG has 4 senses:

1. a sharp protuberance

2. a dead tree that is still standing, usually in an undisturbed forest

3. an opening made forcibly as by pulling apart

4. an unforeseen obstacle

  Familiarity information: SNAG used as a noun is uncommon.

• SNAG (verb)
  The verb SNAG has 3 senses:

1. catch on a snag

2. get by acting quickly and smartly

3. hew jaggedly

  Familiarity information: SNAG used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SNAG (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A sharp protuberance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("snag" is a kind of...):

bulge; bump; excrescence; extrusion; gibbosity; gibbousness; hump; jut; prominence; protrusion; protuberance; swelling (something that bulges out or is protuberant or projects from its surroundings)

Derivation:

snag (hew jaggedly)

snag (catch on a snag)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A dead tree that is still standing, usually in an undisturbed forest

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Context example:

a snag can provide food and a habitat for insects and birds

Hypernyms ("snag" is a kind of...):

tree (a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An opening made forcibly as by pulling apart

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

rent; rip; snag; split; tear

Context example:

she had snags in her stockings

Hypernyms ("snag" is a kind of...):

gap; opening (an open or empty space in or between things)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An unforeseen obstacle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

hang-up; hitch; rub; snag

Hypernyms ("snag" is a kind of...):

obstacle; obstruction (something immaterial that stands in the way and must be circumvented or surmounted)

• SNAG (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they snag    ... he / she / it snags   
Past simple: snagged   
Past participle: snagged   
-ing form: snagging   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Catch on a snag

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

I snagged my stocking

Hypernyms (to "snag" is one way to...):

catch; hitch (to hook or entangle)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

snag (a sharp protuberance)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Get by acting quickly and smartly

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Context example:

snag a bargain

Hypernyms (to "snag" is one way to...):

obtain (come into possession of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Hew jaggedly

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "snag" is one way to...):

hew (strike with an axe; cut down, strike)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

snag (a sharp protuberance)

 Context examples 

Strangling, suffocating, sometimes one uppermost and sometimes the other, dragging over the jagged bottom, smashing against rocks and snags, they veered in to the bank.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)