snug

adj, noun, verb — 9 senses

snug

adj

US, UK /snʌɡ/ · AU, NZ /snɐɡ/

Etymology From dialectal English snug (“tight, handsome”), perhaps from Old Norse snøggr, from Proto-Germanic *snawwuz (“short, quick, fast”). Compare Icelandic snöggur (“smooth”), Danish snög (“neat”), Swedish snygg (“handsome, nice-looking”). Compare also English snudge (“to nestle, remain snug and quiet”).

1

Warm and comfortable; cosy.

  • I felt snug tucked up in my snug bed.
  • Now, if in a stage coach in the depth of winter, when three passengers are warm and snug, a fourth, all besnowed and frozen, descends from the outside and takes place amongst them, straightway all the three passengers shift their places, uneasily pull up their cloak collars, re-arrange their "comforters," feel indignantly a sensible loss of caloric—the intruder has at least made a sensation.1848 April – 1849 October, E[dward] Bulwer-Lytton, chapter I, in The Caxtons: A Family Picture, volume II, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, published 1849, →OCLC, part IX, page 88:
2 more examples
  • I am one of those unambitious lawyers who never addresses a jury, or in any way draws down public applause; but, in the cool tranquillity of a snug retreat, do a snug business among rich men's bonds, and mortgages, and title-deeds.1853, Herman Melville, “Bartleby, the Scrivener”, in The Piazza Tales, New York: Dix, Edwards & Co, published 1856:
  • That night Tarzan built a snug little bower high among the swaying branches of a giant tree, and there the tired girl slept, while in a crotch beneath her the ape-man curled, ready, even in sleep, to protect her.1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 214:
2

Satisfactory.

  • I am one of those unambitious lawyers who never addresses a jury, or in any way draws down public applause; but, in the cool tranquillity of a snug retreat, do a snug business among rich men's bonds, and mortgages, and title-deeds.1853, Melville, Herman, Bartleby, the Scrivener, in Billy Budd, Sailor and Other Stories, New York: Penguin Books, 1968; reprint 1995 as Bartleby, page 2
3

Close-fitting.

  • [I]t does make it clear that adding the keyboard case to the PinePhone will more than double the thickness. You may still be able to slide the whole thing into your pocket, but it’s likely to be more of a snug fit than when using the phone on its own.2021 April 23, Brad Linder, “PinePhone keyboard prototype transforms the Linux phone into a tiny Linux laptop”, in Linux Smartphones:
4

Close; concealed; not exposed to notice.

  • Be ſure at Will’s the following Day, / Lie ſnug, and hear what Criticks ſay.1733, [Jonathan Swift], On Poetry: A Rapsody, Dublin; London: […] [R. Fleming] [a]nd sold by J. Huggonson, […], →OCLC, page 9, lines 116–117:
Derived terms
snug as a bug, snug as a bug in a rug, snuggery, snuggie, Snuggie, snuggish, snugify, snugly, snugness, ultrasnug
Related terms
snuggle, snuggly

snug

noun

Etymology From dialectal English snug (“tight, handsome”), perhaps from Old Norse snøggr, from Proto-Germanic *snawwuz (“short, quick, fast”). Compare Icelandic snöggur (“smooth”), Danish snög (“neat”), Swedish snygg (“handsome, nice-looking”). Compare also English snudge (“to nestle, remain snug and quiet”).

1

UK A small, comfortable back room in a pub.

2

Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences A lug.

Related terms
lounge bar, public bar, saloon bar, vault

snug

verb

Etymology From dialectal English snug (“tight, handsome”), perhaps from Old Norse snøggr, from Proto-Germanic *snawwuz (“short, quick, fast”). Compare Icelandic snöggur (“smooth”), Danish snög (“neat”), Swedish snygg (“handsome, nice-looking”). Compare also English snudge (“to nestle, remain snug and quiet”).

1

To make secure or snug.

  • He snugged his Gun into its tunic holster, checked the scope on his Follower and left the room.1967 May, William F. Nolan, George Clayton Johnson, Logan's Run, Bantam, published 1976, →ISBN, page 15:
2

To snuggle or nestle.

3

To make smooth.

Derived terms
snug down

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.