snow
noun · verb
Simple meaning
The partly frozen, crystalline state of water that falls from the atmosphere as precipitation in flakes.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
snohIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsnoʊ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
uncountable
The partly frozen, crystalline state of water that falls from the atmosphere as precipitation in flakes; also, the falling of such flakes; and the accumulation of them on the ground or on objects as a white layer.
uncountablefigurative
Also in the plural: white hair on an (older) person's head.
uncountablefigurative
Sea foam; sea spray.
uncountablefigurative
The moving pattern of random dots seen on a radar or television screen, etc., when no transmission signal is being received or when there is interference.
uncountablefigurative
Clusters of white flowers.
Street names for cocaine
verb
transitivefigurative
To cause (hair) to turn white; also, to cause (someone) to have white hair.
transitivefigurative
(originally US, slang) To convince or hoodwink (someone), especially by presenting confusing information or through flattery.
transitivefigurative
(poker) To bluff (an opponent) in draw poker by playing a hand which has no value, or by refusing to draw any cards.
transitivefigurative
(US, slang, chiefly passive voice) To cause (someone) to be under the effect of a drug; to dope, to drug.
transitive
To cover or scatter (a place or thing) with, or as if with, snow.
transitive
To cause (something) to fall like snow.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The partly frozen, crystalline state of water that falls from the atmosphere as precipitation in flakes; also, the falling of such flakes; and the accumulation of them on the ground or on objects as a white layer.
Used this way, snow is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This sense is used where position and measurement matter — travel, weather and flight — so it reads as factual rather than emotive.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Geography/travel
- Weather/aviation
- Technical/specialist writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use snow
- “Heavy snow covered the ground all winter long.”noun
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: partly frozen
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.