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View synonyms for

snow

1

[ snoh ]

noun

  1. Meteorology. precipitation in the form of ice crystals, mainly of intricately branched, hexagonal form and often agglomerated into snowflakes, formed directly from the freezing of the water vapor in the air. Compare ice crystals, snow grains, snow pellets.
  2. these flakes as forming a layer on the ground or other surface.
  3. the fall of these flakes or a storm during which these flakes fall.
  4. something resembling a layer of these flakes in whiteness, softness, or the like:

    the snow of fresh linen.

  5. Literary.
    1. white blossoms.
    2. the white color of snow.
  6. Slang. cocaine or heroin.
  7. Usually snows. Informal. snow tires ( def ):

    Most people up here keep their snows on through the end of April.

  8. white spots or bands on a television screen caused by a weak signal. Compare hash 1( def 5 ).


verb (used without object)

  1. to send down snow; fall as snow.
  2. to descend like snow.

verb (used with object)

  1. to let fall as or like snow.
  2. Slang.
    1. to make an overwhelming impression on:

      The view really snowed them.

    2. to persuade or deceive:

      She was snowed into believing everything.

verb phrase

    1. to cover with or bury in snow.
    2. to overwhelm with a larger amount of something than can be conveniently dealt with.
    3. to defeat overwhelmingly.

Snow

2

[ snoh ]

noun

  1. Sir Charles Percy C. P. Snow, 1905–80, English novelist and scientist.

Snow

1

/ əʊ /

noun

  1. SnowC(harles) P(ercy), Baron19051980MBritishWRITING: novelistSCIENCE: physicist C ( harles ) P ( ercy ), Baron. 1905–80, British novelist and physicist. His novels include the series Strangers and Brothers (1949–70)
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

snow

2

/ əʊ /

noun

  1. precipitation from clouds in the form of flakes of ice crystals formed in the upper atmosphere niveous
  2. a layer of snowflakes on the ground
  3. a fall of such precipitation
  4. anything resembling snow in whiteness, softness, etc
  5. the random pattern of white spots on a television or radar screen, produced by noise in the receiver and occurring when the signal is weak or absent
  6. slang.
    cocaine
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. intr; with it as subject to be the case that snow is falling
  2. tr; usually passive, foll by over, under, in, or up to cover or confine with a heavy fall of snow
  3. often withit as subject to fall or cause to fall as or like snow
  4. slang.
    tr to deceive or overwhelm with elaborate often insincere talk See snow job
  5. be snowed under
    to be overwhelmed, esp with paperwork
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

snow

  1. Precipitation that falls to earth in the form of ice crystals that have complex branched hexagonal patterns. Snow usually falls from stratus and stratocumulus clouds, but it can also fall from cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds.
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Derived Forms

  • ˈԴǷɱ, adjective
  • ˈԴǷˌ, adjective
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Other Word Forms

  • ԴǷ· adjective
  • ԴǷ· adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of snow1

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun snou(e), Old English ; cognate with Dutch sneeuw, German Schnee, Old Norse ǣ, Gothic snaiws, Latin nix (genitive nivis ), Greek í (accusative í ), Old Church Slavonic ěŭ; verb derivative of the noun

Origin of snow2

First recorded in 1665–75
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Word History and Origins

Origin of snow1

Old English ; related to Old Norse ō, Gothic snaiws, Old High German ŧ, Greek nipha
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Idioms and Phrases

  • pure as the driven snow
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Their aim is to detect a snow leopard's presence and warn villagers via text message to move their livestock to safety.

From

Even where trees don't drop their leaves and the earth doesn't sleep under a blanket of snow, subtle changes may indicate a slowing, a retreat, a sense of suspended animation.

From

There were snow storms and freezing temperatures at the start but nothing could put me off.

From

The Briton, who has not yet been named, had already gone into cardiac arrest when police officers arrived at the scene to pull him out of the snow.

From

The Swiss ski resort of Zermatt was cut off and tourists and residents were told to stay indoors in the French resort of Tignes because of heavy snow in the Alps on Thursday.

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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