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To break at once; to break short, as substances that are brittle. Breaks the doors open, snaps the locks. Prior.

A short period of vigorous action; as, a snatch at weeding after a shower. Tusser. They move by fits and snatches. Bp. Wilkins.

A short line of horsehair, gut, etc., by which a fishhook is attached to a longer line.

Quick; short; sharp; smart. Shak.

A short candle end used for igniting a fuse. Raymond.

A short line (often of horsehair) connecting a fishing line with the hook; a snell; a leader.

A short sleep; a nap. [Colloq.]

tripping line to, in sending down topgallant and royal yards in vessels of war; also, the short line supporting the heel of the sprit in a small boat.

A check or rebuke; an intended slight. J. Foster. Snub nose, a short or flat nose. -- Snub post, or Snubbing post (Naut.), a post on a dock or shore, around which a rope is thrown to check the motion of a vessel.

Having a short, flat nose, slightly turned up; as, the snub- nosed eel. Snub-nosed cachalot (Zoöl.), the pygmy sperm whale.

A series of short, convulsive inspirations, the glottis being suddenly closed so that little or no air enters into the lungs.

A shoot running along under ground, forming new plants at short distances.

A knit or woven covering for the foot and lower leg; a stocking with a short leg.

somber person; somber reflections. The dinner was silent and somber; happily it was also short. Beaconsfield.

he lives somehow. By their action upon one another they may be swelled somehow, so as to shorten the length. Cheyne.

A short and simple sonata.

A short poem, -- usually amatory. [Obs.] Shak. He had a wonderful desire to chant a sonnet or hymn unto Apollo Pythius. Holland.

In a short time; shortly after any time specified or supposed; as, soon after sunrise. "Sooner said than done." Old Proverb. "As soon as it might be." Chaucer. She finished, and the subtle fiend his lore Soon learned. Milton.

ure hills south of the Thames, in England. Southdown sheep (Zoöl.), a celebrated breed of shortwooled, hornless sheep, highly valued on account of the delicacy of their flesh. So called from the South Downs where the breed originated.

A short time; a while. [R.] "To stay your deadly strife a space." Spenser.