Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A pear-shaped goblet with a narrow top, used especially in serving brandy.
- noun Slang A small portion of liquor.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An audible passing of the breath through the nostrils; a sniff.
- noun plural The stoppage of the nostrils in catarrh.
- noun A dram; a nip.
- noun A severe storm; a blizzard.
- To sniff; snift.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A small
alcoholic drink. - noun A pear-shaped
glass for drinkingbrandy or other alcoholicbeverages .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a globular glass with a small top; used for serving brandy
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word snifter.
Examples
-
I picked up the open bulb of glass that Margo had called a snifter and held it before me, watching the play of light in the red-brown fluid.
Crashlander Niven, Larry 1994
-
I picked up the open bulb of glass that Margo had called a snifter and held it before me, watching the play of light in the red-brown fluid.
Neutron Star Niven, Larry 1969
-
I picked up the open bulb of glass that Margo had called a snifter and held it before me, watching the play of light in the red-brown fluid.
Neutron Star Niven, Larry 1968
-
A snifter is a short-stemmed glass with a wide bottom that narrows slightly at the top.
unknown title 2009
-
You've brought out the truth about that lost coin collection; you've saved Hopewell Drugg from becoming a regular reprobate -- at least, so says his mother-in-law; you've converted Walky Dexter from his habit of taking a 'snifter' ---- "
How Janice Day Won Helen Beecher Long
-
Before she was fairly clear of the harbour, though, there came a "snifter" from the hills that caught her unprepared, making her reel again, and giving us a desperate few minutes to scramble on board and hoist our boats up.
The Cruise of the Cachalot Round the World After Sperm Whales Frank T. Bullen 1886
-
An invoice in the file lists one bottle of Teacher's whisky, known to be her drink of choice; one bottle of gin, a "snifter" of which was favoured by her husband, Denis; and 200
-
A translucent, chestnut-colored liquid is brought to the table in a snifter, where the server mists it with Armagnac—the diner thinks she is getting liqueur, but she is, in fact, drinking a perfectly clear squab consommé, redolent with the scent of the autumn hunt.
The Sorcerer’s Apprentices Lisa Abend 2011
-
And one of the great innovations of 2009 was to create a sequence of game dishes, so that the diner moved from a snifter filled with squab consommé to a rabbit loin with cocoa-dusted foie gras ravioli to rabbit brains in hare “juice.”
The Sorcerer’s Apprentices Lisa Abend 2011
-
His hand, still holding the brandy snifter, shakes.
Secret History of Elizabeth Tudor, Vampire Slayer Lucy Weston 2011
bilby commented on the word snifter
Snifter was the name of my first and only dog. He was a fox terrier cross and there was an abundance of cross. We bought him from the Dandeonong market. I don't know why I picked this puppy in particular ... what training is there for 4-year-olds in puppy picking? He wasn't very clever or pretty but we were stuck with him and him us. I forgave him for everything: digging where he wasn't supposed to, being run over by cars he was chasing, even for trying to mount the neighbour's mongrel when we went out running on summer evenings. I hope he forgave me too. When he died of renal failure I realised I wasn't a dog person at all. I pined for a penguin but, all things considered, it was problematical.
November 23, 2007
mollusque commented on the word snifter
Sinful Caesar sipped his snifter, seized his knees and sneezed.
--Singin' in the Rain
February 27, 2008
bilby commented on the word snifter
I also wonder (read my earlier confession) about where a kid gets a name for a snort of booze or a brandy glass when neither of his parents indulge.
March 23, 2010