Definitions

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

  • intransitive verb To breathe during sleep with harsh, snorting noises caused by vibration of the soft palate.
  • noun The act or an instance of snoring.
  • noun The noise so produced.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To breathe with a rough, hoarse noise in sleep; breathe noisily through the nose and open mouth while sleeping.
  • To spend in snoring, or otherwise affect by snoring, the particular effect or influence being defined by a word or words following.
  • noun A breathing with a harsh noise through the nose and mouth in sleep; especially, a single respiration of this kind. See snore, v. i.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A harsh nasal noise made in sleep.
  • intransitive verb To breathe with a rough, hoarse, nasal voice in sleep.

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

  • verb To breathe during sleep with harsh, snorting noises caused by vibration of the soft palate.
  • noun The act of snoring, and the noise produced.
  • noun informal An extremely boring person or event.

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

  • noun the rattling noise produced when snoring
  • noun the act of snoring or producing a snoring sound
  • verb breathe noisily during one's sleep

Etymologies

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

[Middle English snoren, to snort, from fnoren, from Old English fnora, sneezing; see pneu- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

from Middle English snoren, akin to Middle Low German snorren 'to drone'

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Examples

  • Madam raised her voice in saying this, and nodded significantly; but a mild snore from the other room seemed to assure her that it was a waste of shot to fire in that direction.

    An Old-Fashioned Girl 1950

  • Depending on the age, as many as 12 percent of children may snore, which isn't necessarily a concern.

    Why Sleep Matters 2007

  • She says that I make more noise than an aeroplane when I snore, which is not true.

    Tears Of The Giraffe Smith, Alexander McCall, 1948- 2000

  • His snore was a medley of snuffing and snorting, with an abortive demi-semi aristocratic sort of a sneeze; while to add to the effect of this three-stringed inspiration there was in each aspiration a tremulous and swooning neigh.

    Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 12, No. 28, July, 1873 Various

  • If it shall interest the general reader, and call snore attention to the welfare of seamen, or give any information as to their real condition which may serve to raise them in the rank of beings, and to promote in any measure their religous and moral improvement, and diminish the hardships of their daily life, the end of its publication will be answered.

    Two years before the mast, and twenty-four years after: a personal narrative 1869

  • His speech was followed by an uproar of applause, as its patriotism and self-devotion unquestionably deserved; and the shouts and clapping of hands would have been greatly prolonged, had they not been rendered quite inaudible by a deep respiration, vulgarly called a snore, from the sleeping Hercules.

    Tanglewood Tales Nathaniel Hawthorne 1834

  • When oxygen levels drop people with apnea stop breathing for long periods -- the snore is a kind of gasp for air, the bear's robot arm reaches around and tickles its user's face, so that the user rolls onto his side, where breathing is less labored.

    Boing Boing Cory Doctorow 2011

  • And just who wouldn't, after hearing the same, boring, three-word story, begin to "snore"?

    mise en bouteille / wine bottling 2009

  • And just who wouldn't, after hearing the same, boring, three-word story, begin to "snore"?

    mise en bouteille / wine bottling 2009

  • Set volume to "snore" and there you have it - we sleep... together.

    The 'family' man is anything but Ms Robinson 2008

Comments

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  • One of my many faults....

    April 30, 2007