snook
snook Lexical Profile
snook Game Scores & Validity
• noun
American A large marine game and food fish (genus Centropomus) characterized by a distinct black lateral line, found primarily in warm coastal and brackish waters of the Americas.
"The angler cast his line near the dense mangroves, hoping to catch a heavy snook before the tide changed."
British A gesture of contempt or disrespect made by placing the thumb against the nose and wiggling the extended fingers.
"The rebellious author effectively cocked a snook at the literary establishment by refusing to attend the prestigious award ceremony."
• verb
To prowl, search, or pry into something in a stealthy or meddlesome manner.
"The private investigator spent the evening snooking around the warehouse district for evidence of smuggling."
Word Nuance & Usage
The noun has completely disparate regional usages: in North America, it almost exclusively refers to a coastal game fish, whereas in British English, it is used mainly in the idiom 'cock a snook' to signify a gesture of defiance or contempt.
• Rhymes for snook
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
The fish sense derives from the Dutch 'snoek', meaning 'pike'. The gesture sense ('cock a snook') is of uncertain origin but dates to late 18th-century British slang. The verb sense likely shares a Germanic root with 'snoop' and the Swedish 'snoka' (to search).
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.