Dictionary

snappy en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈsnæpi/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Middle Dutch snappen Dutch snappenbor. Low German snappenbor. English snap Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English snappy From snap + -y.

Meanings

1. (informal) Rapid and without delay.
   • a snappy response
   • Make it snappy!
2. (informal) Irritable.
   • She, Ellen, was sorry she had spoken so sharp-like to the girl, but after all it wasn’t wonderful that she had been snappy. 1913, Marie Adelaide Belloc Lowndes, The Lodger:
   • You're snappy this morning; did you not sleep well?
3. (informal) Tidy; well-dressed; sharp.
   • The niftiest, snappiest slacks you ever saw! 1933, Stella Blum, Everyday Fashion of the Thirties as pictured in Sears Catalogs, published 1986, page 56:
   • Here he is, looking snappy in his brand-new suit.
4. Chilly, brisk, sharp.
   • The day was cool and snappy for August, and the Rise all green with a lavish nature. Now we plunged into a deep shade with the boughs lacing each other overhead, and crossed dainty, rustic bridges over the cold trout-streams, the boards giving back the clatter of our horses' feet:[…]. 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
   • snappy weather; snappy pace; snappy rejoinder
5. Tending to snap or bite.
   • These spring-loaded seats are a bit harder and very snappy when you get off them. 2023 April 19, Pip Dunn, “Jack of all trades... and master of most”, in RAIL, number 981, page 56:
   • a snappy dog
6. Clever, catchy.
   • I should warn the busy reader, however, that the after-dinner mint of Felix Finch is merely the aperitif of my own peripatetic tribulations. The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish, if you will. Now that is a snappy title. 2004, David Mitchell, “The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish”, in Cloud Atlas, →ISBN, pages 146-147:
   • a snappy motto

Forms

Deriveds

look snappy · snappily · snappiness · snappy gum · snazzy · make it snappy

Synonyms

fast · parky · immediate · testy · quick · peevish · tetchy · nippy

Translations (42)

ga grod (irritable) · es irritable (irritable) · fi nopea (rapid and without delay) · es enérgico (rapid and without delay) · ga mear (rapid and without delay) · ru ско́рый (rapid and without delay) · cs nedůtklivý (irritable) · sv kvick (rapid and without delay) · ru бы́стрый (rapid and without delay) · cmn 迅速 (rapid and without delay) · fi tyylikäs (Tidy; well-dressed; sharp) · fi ärtyisä (irritable) · bg раздразнителен (irritable) · es irascible (irritable) · ga galánta (Tidy; well-dressed; sharp) · gd crosta (irritable) · cs svižný (rapid and without delay) · es tajante (irritable) · ga néata (Tidy; well-dressed; sharp) · ga gasta (rapid and without delay) · fi kiukkuinen (irritable) · es tajante (rapid and without delay) · ga pioctha (Tidy; well-dressed; sharp) · ru раздражи́тельный (irritable) · cs bez průtahů (rapid and without delay) · ga borb (irritable) · ga cantalach (irritable) · bg бърз (rapid and without delay) · es iracundo (irritable) · ga péacach (Tidy; well-dressed; sharp) · ga sciobtha (rapid and without delay) · cs nevrlý (irritable) · cs šmrncovní (Tidy; well-dressed; sharp) · nl snel (rapid and without delay) · ga bríomhar (rapid and without delay) · cs řízný (rapid and without delay) · ru щёгольский (Tidy; well-dressed; sharp) · gd dranndanach (irritable) · gd dranndanach (rapid and without delay) · ga giorraisc (irritable) · cs elegantní (Tidy; well-dressed; sharp) · fr fissa (rapid and without delay)