noun · verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation, US:/ˈsnaɪpˌhʌnt/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Australia:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A prank in which a gullible victim is sent off on a fruitless search for a nonexistent item.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: idiomatic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
To participate, as the gullible victim, in a snipe hunt.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
an elaborate practical joke in which the unsuspecting victim hunts a snipe and is typically left in the dark holding a bag and waiting for the snipe to run into it
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
in the South a snipe hunt is practically a rite of passage
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: practical joke
History
Etymology
* snipe + hunt * Although snipe are an actual family of birds, a snipe hunt was originally a quest for an imaginary creature whose description varies.
Across languages
Translations
9 source translations are retained for this English entry.