Word
snore
US/ˈsnɔɹ/
UK/snˈɔː/
Definitions
01to make noise while sleeping
v. to breathe with a loud, vibrating sound while you are asleep.
v. to breathe during sleep with harsh, snorting noises caused by the vibration of the soft palate.
“My husband snores so loudly that I sometimes have to sleep in the guest room.”
“Clinical studies suggest that patients who snore persistently may be suffering from underlying obstructive sleep apnea, requiring further diagnostic evaluation.”
Usage
The verb is often used intransitively, though it can take a cognate object in literary contexts.
02the sound of snoring
n. the actual sound someone makes when they breathe loudly during sleep.
n. the specific sound or act of breathing vibrantly during sleep.
“A loud snore from the sofa told me that Grandpa had fallen asleep.”
“The silence of the dormitory was broken only by the occasional rhythmic snore of a tired traveller.”
03something boring
n. a person or an event that is extremely boring.
n. a person, event, or situation perceived as exceptionally dull or tedious.
“I thought the three-hour lecture on tax law was a total snore.”
“Despite the hype surrounding the product launch, the presentation turned out to be a complete snore, offering nothing new to the industry.”
Informal
Etymology
From Middle English snoren, fnoren (“to snore loudly; snort”), from Middle English snore, fnore (“snore; snort”, noun), from Old English fnora (“snort; sneezing”), from Proto-Germanic fnuzô, from Proto-Indo-European pnew- (“to breathe; snort; sneeze”). Compare also Proto-West Germanic snarkōn, Middle Low German snorren (“to drone”), Dutch snorren (“to hum, purr”). The change fn → sn in this word is regular, seen also in sneeze, from Middle English fnesen (see sneeze for more).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/snore