snack

The word “snack” means a small amount of food eaten between main meals. In plain terms, a small bite of food between meals; informally, also used to describe someone very good-looking.

“Snack” is pronounced snak (/snæk/ in IPA).

Here is “snack” used in a sentence: “She grabbed a snack from the vending machine before class.”

Depending on how it is used, “snack” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “snack” comes from Dutch. From Middle Dutch snacken ("to snap, to bite"), which originally meant a quick bite of food.

“Snack” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

“Snack” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a small amount of food eaten between main meals.

A snack is a small amount of food eaten between main meals, while a meal is a larger, more substantial serving eaten at set times such as breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Snacks are lighter and usually eaten to tide someone over.

To snack is to eat a small amount of food between meals, while to nibble is to eat something in small, gentle bites. Nibbling describes the manner of eating, whereas snacking describes eating a light amount outside main meals.

Calling someone a "snack" to mean they are very attractive is informal slang, common in casual and online speech. It should be avoided in formal writing, where it would be out of place.

Common collocations include "snack bar," "afternoon snack," "healthy snack," and "midnight snack." As a verb, people often "snack on" something, as in "snack on nuts."