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snort (snôrt)
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n.
1.
a. A rough, noisy sound made by breathing forcefully through the nostrils, as a horse or pig does.
b. A similar sound: the snort of a steam engine.
2. Slang
a. A drink of liquor, especially when swallowed in one gulp.
b. Cocaine or heroin, especially a small amount sniffed at one time.
c. The liquor or drug so taken.
v. snort·ed, snort·ing, snorts
v.intr.
1.
a. To breathe noisily and forcefully through the nostrils.
b. To make a sound resembling noisy exhalation: "The wind snorted across the Kansas plains" (Gail Sheehy).
2. To make an abrupt noise expressive of scorn, ridicule, or contempt.
3. To ingest a drug, such as cocaine or heroin, by sniffing.
v.tr.
1. To express by snorting: He snorted his disapproval.
2. To ingest by sniffing: snorted cocaine.
[From Middle English snorten, to snort, from fnorten, variant of fnoren; see SNORE.]
snorter n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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