Meanings
snack1
plural snacks · alternative snacc
- An item of food eaten between meals.
Stay another fifteen minutes, in which we can have a snack of some kind in place of dinner.
1927, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados Mysteries1 more example
The numbers thin out the further we get from London, so I don't feel guilty when I remove my mask momentarily to scoff some of the snacks I'd bought at Marylebone.
2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68 - slangA very sexy and attractive person.
Her confusion amped up. But so did her attraction. He was a total snack.
2020, Gena Showalter, Prince of Stone, HQN Books, →ISBN2 more examples
Up close, he was a total snack. “That was pretty slick.” “Well.” He cocked his head, “I'm a pretty slick guy.” “I'm Kevin,” I said. “Romeo,” he put out his hand. “You're kidding.”
2008, Scott Sherman, First You Fall: A Kevin Connor Mystery, Alyson PublicationsYou were looking like a snack. I was looking like a snack. We were finally going to do what two snacks do... I immediately went into my routine. Covers on. Lights off. But you Mr. Tate...you softly grabbed my hand, kissed it, and turned the lights back on.
2019, Loy A. Webb, The Light, Concord Theatricals, →ISBN, page 22
present singular third person snacks · participle present snacking · participle past snacked · past snacked
- To eat a light meal.
Insult is added to injury when I see the West Coast Railways dining train at the adjacent platform, where guests are sat snacking and drinking wine at a very sociable distance.
2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 66 - To eat between meals.
snack2
plural snacks
- obsoleteA share; a part or portion.
All my demurrs but double his attacks; / At laſt he vvhiſpers, "Do; and vve go ſnacks."
1735 January 13 (Gregorian calendar; indicated as 1734), [Alexander] Pope, An Epistle from Mr. Pope, to Dr. Arbuthnot, London: […] J[ohn] Wright for Lawton Gilliver […], →OCLC, page 4, lines 65–661 more example
"Have you exhibited very much?" said Young Person in the bar-parlour of the "Coach and Horses," where Mr Watkins was skilfully accumulating local information on the night of his arrival. / "Very little," said Mr Watkins, "just a snack here and there."
1894 July 5, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “The Hammerpond Park Burglary”, in The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents, London: Methuen & Co. […], published 1895, →OCLC, pages 216–217
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA light meal.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
snack · noun, verb
- Proto-Germanic*snakkōną“to smack one's lips, open one's mouth to eat; to snatch (with one's mouth?), snack on”
- Middle Dutchsnacken“to snack”
- Englishsnack
From Middle Dutch snacken (“to snack”), possibly from Proto-Germanic *snakkōną (“to smack one's lips, open one's mouth to eat; to snatch (with one's mouth?), snack on”), whence also etymology 2; ultimately onomatopoeic. Cognate with German schnäken (“to snack”). More at Proto-Germanic *snak-.
More words from Middle Dutch, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →snack · noun, verb
See snatch (transitive verb). Ultimately of the same origin as the word under Etymology 1, but perhaps through a different source.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans peuselhappie
- peuselhappiea light meal
Ancient Greek ἔμβρωμα, ἔμβρωμα
- ἔμβρωμα (émbrōma)a light meal
- ἔμβρωμα (émbrōma)an item of food eaten between meals
Arabic وَجْبَة خَفِيفَة, لُمْجَة
- وَجْبَة خَفِيفَة (wajba ḵafīfa)a light meal
- لُمْجَة (lumja)a light meal
Bulgarian заку́ска, заку́ска
- заку́ска (zakúska)a light meal
- заку́ска (zakúska)an item of food eaten between meals
- закусвам (zakusvam)to eat a light meal
Catalan refrigeri, piscolabis
- refrigeria light meal
- piscolabisan item of food eaten between meals
Chinese Cantonese 零食, 小食
- 零食 (ling⁴ sik⁶)a light meal
- 小食 (siu² sik⁶)a light meal
- 點心 /点心 (dim² sam¹)a light meal
Chinese Mandarin 零食, 小吃
- 零食 (língshí)a light meal
- 小吃 (xiǎochī)a light meal
- 點心 /点心 (diǎnxīn)a light meal
- 零食 (língshí)an item of food eaten between meals
Czech svačina, sváča
- svačinaa light meal
- sváčaa light meal
- svačinaan item of food eaten between meals
- sváčaan item of food eaten between meals
Danish snack, snack
- snacka light meal
- snackan item of food eaten between meals
Dutch tussendoortje, tussendoortje
- tussendoortjea light meal
- tussendoortjean item of food eaten between meals
Esperanto kolaziono, manĝeto
- kolazionoa light meal
- manĝetoa light meal
- manĝetito eat a light meal
Finnish välipala, pikkupurtava
- välipalaa light meal
- pikkupurtavaa light meal
- välipalaan item of food eaten between meals
- syödä välipalato eat a light meal
- napostellato eat between meals
French casse-croûte m or casse-croute, hors-d'œuvre
- casse-croûte m or casse-croutea light meal
- hors-d'œuvrea light meal
- goûtera light meal
- encasa light meal
- casse-croûte m or casse-croutean item of food eaten between meals
- grignotagean item of food eaten between meals
- grignoterto eat a light meal
- grignoterto eat between meals
German Imbiss, Happen
- Imbissa light meal
- Happena light meal
- Snacka light meal
- Jausea light meal
- Zwischenmahlzeitan item of food eaten between meals
- jausnento eat a light meal
Greek κολατσιό, κολατσιό
- κολατσιό (kolatsió)a light meal
- κολατσιό (kolatsió)an item of food eaten between meals
Hebrew חָטִיף, חָטִיף
- חָטִיף (khatíf)a light meal
- חָטִיף (khatíf)an item of food eaten between meals
- נשנושan item of food eaten between meals
- נִשְׁנֵשׁ (nishnésh)to eat between meals
Hindi नाश्ता, भाग
- नाश्ता (nāśtā)a light meal
- भाग (bhāg)a light meal
- स्नैक (snaik)a light meal
Hungarian falatozás, uzsonna
- falatozása light meal
- uzsonnaa light meal
- tízóraia light meal
- harapnivalóan item of food eaten between meals
- rágcsálnivalóan item of food eaten between meals
- rágcsaan item of food eaten between meals
- nasian item of food eaten between meals
- nassolnivalóan item of food eaten between meals
Icelandic snakk
- snakka light meal
Indonesian camilan, kudapan
- camilana light meal
- kudapana light meal
- camilanan item of food eaten between meals
- kudapanan item of food eaten between meals
- makanan ringanan item of food eaten between meals
Irish scroid, raisín
- scroida light meal
- raisína light meal
- sneaican item of food eaten between meals
- smailcan item of food eaten between meals
Italian spuntino, merendina
- spuntinoa light meal
- merendinaan item of food eaten between meals
Japanese 軽食, スナック
- 軽食 (keishoku)a light meal
- スナック (sunakku)a light meal
- 間食 (kanshoku)a light meal
- お八つ (oyatsu)a light meal
- 間食 (kanshoku)an item of food eaten between meals
- おやつ (oyatsu)an item of food eaten between meals
- 間食する (kanshoku suru)to eat between meals
Korean 간단한 식사, 경식
- 간단한 식사 (gandanhan siksa)a light meal
- 경식 (gyeongsik)a light meal
- 간식 (gansik)a light meal
- 스낵 (seunaek)a light meal
- 간식 (gansik)an item of food eaten between meals
Latin merenda, merenda
- merendaa light meal
- merendaan item of food eaten between meals
Malay kudapan, jajan
- kudapana light meal
- jajana light meal
- sneka light meal
- cemilana light meal
Māori (kai) paramanawa, kai timotimo
- (kai) paramanawaan item of food eaten between meals
- kai timotimoan item of food eaten between meals
- kōmuramurato eat between meals
- kai timotimoto eat between meals
Norwegian Bokmål matbit
- matbita light meal
Polish przekąska, przekąska
- przekąskaa light meal
- przekąskaan item of food eaten between meals
Portuguese lanche, comidinha
- lanchea light meal
- comidinhaa light meal
- petiscoa light meal
- lanchean item of food eaten between meals
- lancharto eat a light meal
- merendarto eat a light meal
- laricarto eat a light meal
- lancharto eat between meals
- merendarto eat between meals
- laricarto eat between meals
Romanian gustare, gustare
- gustarea light meal
- gustarean item of food eaten between meals
Russian заку́ска, переку́ска
- заку́ска (zakúska)a light meal
- переку́ска (perekúska)a light meal
- переку́с (perekús)a light meal
- лёгкая заку́ска (ljóxkaja zakúska)a light meal
- снэк (snɛk)a light meal
- заку́ска (zakúska)an item of food eaten between meals
- по́лдник (póldnik)an item of food eaten between meals
- снэк (snɛk)an item of food eaten between meals
- заку́сывать (zakúsyvatʹ)to eat a light meal
- закуси́ть (zakusítʹ)to eat a light meal
- переку́сывать (perekúsyvatʹ)to eat a light meal
- перекуси́ть (perekusítʹ)to eat a light meal
- переку́сывать (perekúsyvatʹ)to eat between meals
- перекуси́ть (perekusítʹ)to eat between meals
Scottish Gaelic greim-bìdh
- greim-bìdhan item of food eaten between meals
Slovak občerstvenie, svačina
- občerstveniea light meal
- svačinaa light meal
- desiataan item of food eaten between meals
- svačinaan item of food eaten between meals
Spanish tentempié, refrigerio
- tentempiéa light meal
- refrigerioa light meal
- bocadillo)a light meal
- aperitivoa light meal
- bocadoa light meal
- botanaa light meal
- piquislabisa light meal
- piscolabisa light meal
- refaccióna light meal
- bala fríaa light meal
- meriendaa light meal
- mecatoa light meal
- merendarto eat a light meal
- comiscarto eat a light meal
- comisquearto eat a light meal
- comichearto eat a light meal
- picarto eat between meals
- mecatearto eat between meals
- merendarto eat between meals
- botanearto eat between meals
Swedish mellanmål, fika
- mellanmåla light meal
- fikaa light meal
- mellanmålan item of food eaten between meals
- läckerbita very sexy and attractive person
- småätato eat between meals
Tagalog dautan, meryenda
- dautana light meal
- meryendaa light meal
Tamil தீனி, சிற்றுண்டி
- தீனி (tīṉi)a light meal
- சிற்றுண்டி (ciṟṟuṇṭi)a light meal
- நொறுக்குத்தீனி (noṟukkuttīṉi)a light meal
- சிற்றுண்டி (ciṟṟuṇṭi)an item of food eaten between meals
Thai เครื่องว่าง, ของว่าง
- เครื่องว่าง (krʉ̂ʉang-wâang)a light meal
- ของว่าง (kɔ̌ɔng-wâang)a light meal
- ของว่าง (kɔ̌ɔng-wâang)an item of food eaten between meals
- อาหารว่าง (aa-hǎan-wâang)an item of food eaten between meals
- เครื่องว่าง (krʉ̂ʉang-wâang)an item of food eaten between meals
Turkish atıştırmalık, çerez
- atıştırmalıka light meal
- çereza light meal
- mezea light meal
- çerezan item of food eaten between meals
- atıştırmalıkan item of food eaten between meals
- atıştırmakto eat a light meal
Ukrainian заку́ска, за́куска
- заку́ска (zakúska)a light meal
- за́куска (zákuska)a light meal
- пере́куска (perékuska)a light meal
- снек (snek)a light meal
- снек (snek)an item of food eaten between meals
- заку́ска (zakúska)an item of food eaten between meals
Urdu ناشْتَہ, ناشْتَا
- ناشْتَہ (nāśta)a light meal
- ناشْتَا (nāśtā)a light meal
- سْنَیک (snaik)a light meal
- اِسْنَیک (isnaik)a light meal
Welsh byrbryd
- byrbrydan item of food eaten between meals
Yiddish נאַש, פֿאַרבײַסן
- נאַש (nash)an item of food eaten between meals
- פֿאַרבײַסן (farbaysn)an item of food eaten between meals
- פֿאַרבײַס (farbays)an item of food eaten between meals
- פֿאַרבײַסעכֿץ (farbaysekhts)an item of food eaten between meals
- פֿאַרבײַסונג (farbaysung)an item of food eaten between meals
- צובײַסן (tsubaysn)an item of food eaten between meals
- צובײַס (tsubays)an item of food eaten between meals
- צובײַסונג (tsubaysung)an item of food eaten between meals
- איבערבײַס (iberbays)an item of food eaten between meals
- איבערבײַסן (iberbaysn)an item of food eaten between meals
- זאַקוסקע (zakuske)an item of food eaten between meals
- פּריקוסקע (prikuske)an item of food eaten between meals
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with snack
Cite this entry
snack. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/snack
“snack.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/snack. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “snack,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/snack.
Source: snack on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.