sniggersnig‧ger /ˈsnɪɡə $ -ər/ verb [intransitive] 
Word Origin Examples
What are you sniggering at? This is a serious poem.► see thesaurus at laugh—snigger noun [countable]
Word OriginWORD ORIGINsnigger
Verb TableOrigin:
1700-1800 snickerVERB TABLE
snigger
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | snigger |
| he, she, it | sniggers | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | sniggered |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have sniggered |
| he, she, it | has sniggered | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had sniggered |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will snigger |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have sniggered |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am sniggering |
| he, she, it | is sniggering | |
| you, we, they | are sniggering | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was sniggering |
| you, we, they | were sniggering | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been sniggering |
| he, she, it | has been sniggering | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been sniggering |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be sniggering |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been sniggering |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- Ruth tripped and fell as she walked up the steps. The boys behind her sniggered.
- Ballantyne sniggered and Mitchell chuckled too.
- He sniggered and walked from the burning drum.
- Katie sniggered and snorted and even Graham smiled.
- No one sniggered when football coaches, business executives and politicians became fairer haired.
- Once, a dealer at Harvard Securities admitted to a director that he had been paid twice, and the director sniggered.
- The one with the thinning blonde hair made a remark at which the second man sniggered.
- They were all too kind to snigger but Suzi distinctly saw fat Luiza shrug her shoulders in a gesture of fatalistic despair.
THESAURUS► laugh
British English to laugh quietly in a way that is not nice at something which is not supposed to be funny SYN snicker American Englishsnigger at to make sounds with your voice and move your face, because you think that something is funny: · He looked so funny that we couldn’t stop laughing.
► giggle to laugh quickly in a high voice, especially in a slightly silly way, or because you are nervous or embarrassed: · A group of teenage girls were giggling in a corner.· She tends to giggle when she meets new people.
► chuckle to laugh quietly, especially because you are thinking about or reading something funny: · He was chuckling to himself over an article in the paper.· ‘We used to get up to all kinds of mischief.’ She chuckled at the memory.
► snigger British English, snicker American English to laugh quietly in an unkind or unpleasant way, for example when someone is hurt or embarrassed: · Billy stood up and started to sing, and one or two people sniggered.
► titter to laugh quietly in a high voice, especially about something that is rude or about sex, or is embarrassing for someone: · As a nation we love to titter over politicians’ sex scandals.· schoolboys tittering over a magazine
► roar with laughter to laugh very loudly, especially with a deep voice: · I could hear my father roaring with laughter at something on TV.
► shriek with laughter to laugh very loudly, especially with a high voice: · Patsy chased him down the stairs, shrieking with laughter.
► howl with laughter to laugh very loudly – used especially about a group of people laughing together: · His plays have made audiences howl with laughter.
► in stitches laughing so much that you cannot stop: · It was such a funny film – it had us all in stitches.
► guffaw to laugh very loudly and without trying to stop yourself: · The audience guffawed at his nonstop jokes.
► cackle to laugh loudly in an unpleasant way: · The old woman cackled at the trouble she was causing.
Longman Language Activatorto laugh in a cruel or nasty way► laugh at to laugh or make unkind jokes about someone, because you think they are stupid or silly: · The other children laughed at Lisa because her clothes were old-fashioned.· At first I was terrified of being laughed at.
► snigger British /snicker American to laugh quietly at something that is not supposed to be funny, for example when someone is hurt or embarrassed: · Ruth tripped and fell as she walked up the steps. The boys behind her sniggered.· As he walked across the stage, Billy could hear people snickering and whispering.
► make fun of to make someone or something seem stupid by laughing at them, or by saying things that make other people laugh at them: · Stop making fun of me!· The other girls used to make fun of the way she spoke.
► jeer if a group of people jeer at someone in a public place, they laugh unkindly at that person and shout rude things at them: · The boys jeered as she ran away.· He was booed and jeered by the spectators when he argued with the umpire.jeer at: · After the match the crowd were all jeering at him.
What are you sniggering at? This is a serious poem.► see thesaurus at laugh—snigger noun [countable]