Etymology From Middle English snubben (also snibben), from Old Norse snubba (“to curse, chide, snub, scold, reprove”), which, like the source of English snip, is probably imitative in some manner. Cognate with Danish snibbe, dialectal Swedish snebba.
1
Conspicuously short.
a snub-nosed revolver
2
Of a nose Flat and broad, with the end slightly turned up.
It was even less easy to fix the impression in the case of the man at the right end of the table, who, to say truth, was as commonplace a person as could be seen anywhere, with a round, brown-haired head and a round snub nose, but also clad in clerical black, of a stricter cut.1914, G[ilbert] K[eith] Chesterton, The Wisdom of Father Brown:
If I close my eyes I can see Marie today as I saw her then. Round, rosy face, snub nose, dark hair piled up in a chignon.1977, Agatha Christie, chapter 2, in An Autobiography, part II, London: Collins, →ISBN:
3
Mathematics, SciencesOf a polyhedron Derived from a simpler polyhedron by the addition of extra triangular faces.
Etymology From Middle English snubben (also snibben), from Old Norse snubba (“to curse, chide, snub, scold, reprove”), which, like the source of English snip, is probably imitative in some manner. Cognate with Danish snibbe, dialectal Swedish snebba.
1
A deliberate affront or slight.
I hope the people we couldn't invite don't see it as a snub.
It was part of Evelyn’s character that in spite of many snubs which she received or imagined, she never gave up the pursuit of people she wanted to know, and in the long run generally succeeded in knowing them and even in making them like her.1915, Virginia Woolf, The Voyage Out, London: Duckworth & Co., […], →OCLC:
2 more examples
The bluntness of King Vajiralongkorn's intervention—and the determination it reveals to resist relatively small checks on royal power—is both a snub to the junta and a worry for democrats, some of whom had dared hope that the new king might be happy to take a back seat in public life.2017 January 14, “Thailand's new king rejects the army's proposed constitution”, in The Economist:
The snub from a traditional ally to Putin, who had hosted an inconsequential meeting of the warring countries’ leaders last month, comes immediately on the back of his disastrous summit with six former Soviet states.2022 November 25, Daniel Boffey, “Putin’s grip on regional allies loosens again after Armenia snub”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
[A club] with ragged snubs and knotty grain.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto VIII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 7:
Etymology From Middle English snubben (also snibben), from Old Norse snubba (“to curse, chide, snub, scold, reprove”), which, like the source of English snip, is probably imitative in some manner. Cognate with Danish snibbe, dialectal Swedish snebba.
1
To slight, ignore or behave coldly toward someone.
When, therefore, the First Secretary sounded him as to the expediency of some step in the direction of a firmer political combination than that at present existing,—by which of course was meant the dethronement of the present Prime Minister,—Mr. Roby had snubbed him!1876, Anthony Trollope, The Prime Minister. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC:
For near three mortal months have you trifled with my feelings, eluded me, and snubbed me; and I won’t stand it!1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC:
2 more examples
Lily was sure that within twenty-four hours the story of her visiting her dress-maker at the Benedick would be in active circulation among Mr. Rosedale’s acquaintances. The worst of it was that she had always snubbed and ignored him.1905, Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC:
For a long time he lived in the toy cupboard or on the nursery floor, and no one thought very much about him. He was naturally shy, and being only made of velveteen, some of the more expensive toys quite snubbed him.1921 June, Margery Williams, “The Velveteen Rabbit: Or How Toys Become Real”, in Harper’s Bazar, volume LVI, number 6 (2504 overall), New York, N.Y.: International Magazine Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
2
To turn down insultingly; to dismiss.
He snubbed my offer of help.
The joke is on those who snub books which, judged by their covers, are written for the mass market. Mineshaft is the finest satire in gay literature.1986 February 15, Lars Eighner, “A Homosexual Norman Mailer?”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 31, page 5:
3
To check; to reprimand.
4
To stub out (a cigarette etc).
5
To halt the movement of a rope etc by turning it about a cleat or bollard etc; to secure a vessel in this manner.
6
To clip or break off the end of; to check or stunt the growth of.
Etymology From Middle English snubben, snobben (“to sob”). Compare Dutch snuiven (“to snort, to pant”), German schnauben, German dialect schnupfen (“to sob”), and English snuff (transitive verb).
1
To sob with convulsions.
He striveth, strugleth, roareth, sobbeth, snubbeth, and ready he is to burst for anger.1621, Thomas Bedford, The Sinne Vnto Death: