snip vs snipes, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“snip” is a verb and “snipes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#35,522
“snip” frequency rank: #45,091
“snipes” frequency rank: 80613
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	snip	snipes
Definition	To cut with short sharp actions, as with scissors.	plural of snipe

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set snip and snipes apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

snip

6 ch

snipes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: snip is /snɪp/ while snipes is /snaɪps/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “snip” sits inside “snipes”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80613, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

snip is recorded at frequency rank #35,522, classified as averb, pronounced /snɪp/. snipes is at rank #45,091, tagged as anoun, pronounced /snaɪps/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 80613, this pair ranks #19,421 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of snip vs snipes

Shared letters: inps. Private to "snip": -. Private to "snipes": e.

"snip" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "snipes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

snip ← nsip · sinp · snipp · snnip · snpi · ssnip
snipes ← nsipes · sinpes · snieps · snipess · snippes · snipse · snnipes · snpies

Frequency comparison

snip#35,522

snipes#45,091

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "snip" and "snipes" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "snip" is a verb and "snipes" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "snip" or "snipes"?

"snip" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,522 in our English list, against #45,091 for "snipes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering snip vs snipes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “snip”; for a noun, it's “snipes”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “snip” entry
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