snort

1 of 2

verb

snorted; snorting; snorts

intransitive verb

1
a
: to force air violently through the nose with a rough harsh sound
b
: to express scorn, anger, indignation, or surprise by a snort
2
: to emit explosive sounds resembling snorts
3
: to take in a drug by inhalation through the nose

transitive verb

1
: to utter with or express by a snort
2
: to expel or emit with or as if with snorts
3
: to inhale (a drug) through the nose

snort

2 of 2

noun

1
: a drink of usually straight liquor taken in one draft
2
: an act or sound of snorting

Examples of snort in a Sentence

Verb The old dog snorted like a pig when it smelled food. She snorted at his suggestion that he could fix the sink himself. “Yeah, you're a writer, and I'm the King of Spain!” he snorted. Noun the snorts of a pig made a snort of derision at the lame suggestion
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Martz and Lee allegedly drank, snorted cocaine and smoked marijuana during the flight, Jane Doe claims in the suit. Sarah Parvini, Los Angeles Times, 16 Dec. 2023 Marketing campaigns have featured a truck snorting lines of fake cocaine off a street in Paris and an airport baggage claim display of suitcases stuffed with cash. Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 6 Feb. 2024 Tom’s character was a child in an adult’s body, who would chuckle and snort at his own jokes and stubbornly defend his most absurd ideas. Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 29 Dec. 2023 Advertisement For Petco Park, that’s simply Act I. USC faces Louisville on Wednesday, beginning a 16-day run that transforms the park from baseball to football to a multi-day concert venue to the leaping, spinning, snorting world of rodeo bulls. Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Dec. 2023 In one colorful scene, Mr. Cohen, played by Vincent D’Onofrio, sits in a mansion snarfing a club sandwich and snorting with laughter on the phone with Mr. Plotkin, played by Seth Rogen. Brooks Barnes, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2023 Recreational drugs: On a very different note, snorting recreational drugs like cocaine can irritate the lining of the nose and contribute to nosebleeds. Beth Krietsch, SELF, 15 Nov. 2023 Chortle is a combination of chuckle and snort, while galumph is apparently gallop + triumph. Melissa Mohr, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Oct. 2023 Dear Miss Manners: What is the best way to extricate oneself from the faux pas of an uncontrollable laugh, snort or giggle? Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 17 Oct. 2023
Noun
Both does and bucks will issue a brief snort when alarmed or frightened. Scott Bestul, Field & Stream, 28 Sep. 2023 Kathy, who works as a train operator, gave a little snort. Ariel Levy, The New Yorker, 31 July 2023 Chuckle chuckle, snort snort, but sadly, in U.S. colleges since 2010, English majors have become an endangered species. San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Jan. 2023 More snort will be available this month as '99 models start trickling in to showrooms. Tony Swan, Car and Driver, 3 June 2023 No, although the gag is an example of the attention Mr. McKay and his production team lavish on any detail that might earn a snort. Amy Nicholson, wsj.com, 13 Apr. 2023 Nella fought back a snort. Rachel Epstein, Marie Claire, 1 June 2021 Byrne let out a hard snort. Rich Benjamin, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2022 Another snort of frustration. Henry Gass, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Oct. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'snort.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English snorten, fnorten; akin to Old English fnora sneezing

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun

1786, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of snort was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near snort

Cite this Entry

“Snort.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snort. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

snort

1 of 2 verb
1
a
: to force air violently through the nose with a rough harsh sound
b
: to express scorn, anger, or surprise by a snort
2
: to take in (a drug) by inhaling through the nose
snorter noun

snort

2 of 2 noun
1
: an act or sound of snorting
2
: a drink of liquor usually taken by itself in one swallow

Medical Definition

snort

intransitive verb
: to take in a drug by inhalation

transitive verb

: to inhale (a narcotic drug in powdered form) through the nostrils
snort cocaine

More from Merriam-Webster on snort

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!