# snag

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈsnæɡ/ · frequency rank #20,501

## Definitions
1. A stump or base of a branch that has been lopped off; a short branch, or a sharp or rough branch.
2. A dead tree that remains standing.
3. A tree, or a branch of a tree, fixed in the bottom of a river or other navigable water, and rising nearly or quite to the surface, by which boats are sometimes pierced and sunk.
4. Any sharp protuberant part of an object, which may catch, scratch, or tear other objects brought into contact with it.
5. A tooth projecting beyond the others; a broken or decayed tooth.
6. A problem or difficulty with something.
7. A pulled thread or yarn, as in cloth; a tear.
8. One of the secondary branches of an antler.

## Etymology
From earlier snag (“stump or branch of a tree”), from Middle English *snagge, *snage, from Old Norse snagi (“clothes peg”) (compare Old Norse snag-hyrndr (“snag-horned, having jagged corners”)), perhaps ultimately from a derivative of Proto-Germanic *snakk-, *snēgg, variations of *snakaną (“to crawl, creep, wind about”).
Compare Norwegian snag, snage (“protrusion; projecting point”), Icelandic snagi (“peg”). Also see Dutch snoek (“pike”).

## Easily confused with
- **spa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snag-vs-spa)
- **SNP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snag-vs-snp)
- **STA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snag-vs-sta)
- **SNL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snag-vs-snl)
- **SoA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snag-vs-soa)
- **SSA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snag-vs-ssa)
- **Snr** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snag-vs-snr)
- **SNS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snag-vs-sns)
- **SVG** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snag-vs-svg)
- **stay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snag-vs-stay)
- **song** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snag-vs-song)
- **star** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snag-vs-star)
- **snow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snag-vs-snow)
- **snap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snag-vs-snap)
- **soap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snag-vs-soap)
- **span** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snag-vs-span)
- **stan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snag-vs-stan)
- **spam** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snag-vs-spam)
- **stat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snag-vs-stat)
- **swap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snag-vs-swap)

## Common misspellings (5)
`nsag`, `snagg`, `snga`, `snnag`, `ssnag`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/snag