Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To act as an informer.
  • intransitive verb To steal (something, usually something of little value); pilfer.
  • noun An informer.
  • noun A thief.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To steal, quickly and quietly.
  • verb transitive To inform on.
  • verb slang, transitive To contact or cooperate with the police for any reason.
  • noun A thief.
  • noun An informer, usually one who betrays his group.
  • noun this sense) (UK) A nose.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun someone acting as an informer or decoy for the police
  • verb take by theft
  • verb give away information about somebody

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Origin unknown.]

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Examples

  • In these cases, these individuals were stigmatized with the label "snitch" or "stool pigeon."

    Elena Quintana: The Problem With Snitching Elena Quintana 2011

  • In these cases, these individuals were stigmatized with the label "snitch" or "stool pigeon."

    Elena Quintana: The Problem With Snitching Elena Quintana 2011

  • I spoke to multimillionaire rap star Cam'ron about why he uses the term snitch and encourages people not to talk to police, says he himself would never talk to police.

    CNN Transcript Apr 24, 2007 2007

  • And, you know, the term snitch used to refer to one criminal who ratted out another criminal in order to get a lesser sentence.

    CNN Transcript Apr 24, 2007 2007

  • The same con game is used by people of questionable ethics who invented the term "snitch" to demonize and prevent whistleblowers "ratting them out."

    Thestar.com - Home Page 2011

  • And he was so scared, he did not go to school yesterday because he sensed that, for being what they call a snitch, something bad would happen to him.

    CNN Transcript Oct 13, 2009 2009

  • "The word 'snitch' puts witnesses in a category where they have done something wrong, this is not the case."

    Evening Standard - Home Justin Davenport 2011

  • I think the reason kids are told not to snitch is because they will be retaliated against.

    Live Blog from the Anchor Desk 10/01/09 2009

  • The reason why people are scared to snitch is because they fear their lives.

    Nas: ‘Open letter to young warriors in Chicago’ 2009

  • RAFOLS: Police say this is where a 38-year-old woman was kidnapped, beaten, and branded with a hot iron, the word snitch scorched into her cheek, then blindfolded, driven, and dropped in this nearby neighborhood.

    CNN Transcript Jun 22, 2007 2007

  • snitch tagging is a special case of explicitly person-mentioning someone in a reply to or quotation of a post which mentions (usually critically) that same someone more obliquely (like plain text or a nickname) as a way of notifying that person of the critique, either as a heads-up, or perhaps in agreement with the critique.

    snitch tagging - IndieWeb 2022

Comments

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  • Frank Burns: At school I used to snitch on myself for not snitching.

    August 14, 2009