snooze
verb
What snooze means
To sleep lightly for a short time, or to press the snooze button on an alarm to get a few more minutes of sleep.
I always snooze my alarm twice.
Grandpa snoozed in the armchair after lunch.
Test yourself
Five questions about snooze
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Question 1 of 5Meaning
What does snooze mean?
To snooze is to have a short, light sleep, like a nap after lunch. You can also snooze an alarm, so that it rings again a few minutes later.
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Question 2 of 5Situation
Your alarm rings at seven, so you press a button that makes it ring again ten minutes later. You ___ the alarm.
Pressing the button that gives you a few more minutes before the alarm rings again is called snoozing. To snore is to make a noise while you sleep.
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Question 3 of 5Gap
I ___ for twenty minutes on the sofa and woke up feeling much better.
You can only wake up after you sleep, so the verb must mean a short sleep. To snooze is to sleep lightly for a short time, like a nap.
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Question 4 of 5Similar word
Which word is closest in meaning to snooze?
To doze is to sleep lightly for a short time, just like to snooze. To snore is to make a noise in your sleep, and to yawn is to open your mouth when tired.
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Question 5 of 5Correct use
Which sentence uses snooze correctly?
You snooze an alarm, with no preposition, and the button is the snooze button. Making a loud noise in your sleep is snoring, not snoozing.
Keys 1 to 4 pick an answer, Enter goes on.
Snooze in a sentence
5 more examples of snooze in everyday situations.
- In the morning
My alarm went off at six, but I snoozed it three times.
- Phone settings
You can change how long the snooze lasts in your clock settings.
- On the weekend
After lunch, I had a quick snooze on the couch.
- Pets
The cat snoozes in the sun by the window all afternoon.
- A warning
If you keep hitting snooze, you’ll miss the bus again.
How to use snooze
Snooze is informal. A snooze button gives you extra minutes before the alarm rings again. A snooze is also a short nap: “I had a quick snooze.”
Hitting snooze too often can make you late.
Forms
- snoozeshe/she/it
- snoozedpast
- snoozing-ing form
- snoozenoun (a short sleep)
Patterns
- hit / press snooze
- snooze the alarm
- have a snooze
- the snooze button
Common mistakes with snooze
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NotI snored my alarm.
SayI snoozed my alarm.
Snore is a noise in sleep. Snooze is a short sleep.
Snooze or nap or doze?
- snooze or nap
- A nap is a short sleep during the day and works in any situation. A snooze is similar but more informal, and to snooze also means to delay an alarm.
- snooze or doze
- Doze means to fall into a light sleep, often without planning to: “I dozed off on the train.” Snooze sounds more relaxed and playful.
Snooze is a C1 word. Is that your level? Take the level test or count the words you know.
Snooze word family and collocations
The words that go with snooze, so you can use it in a whole phrase.
Common collocations
- hit snooze
- a snooze button
- snooze the alarm
- a quick snooze
- snooze in the sun
Word family
- snooze (verb, noun)
Similar words
- nap
- doze
Questions about snooze
Is snooze formal or informal?
Snooze is informal. It is fine in everyday talk, but in formal writing you would use sleep or rest, for example “The patient rested for an hour”.
What does “you snooze, you lose” mean?
It is an informal saying. It means that if you are slow or do not act quickly, you will miss a chance, such as a good deal or the last seat.
The word before
Do you still remember therapy?
One question about the word from 21 October. Remembering a word a day later helps it stay.
One question
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What does therapy mean?
Therapy is help for the body or the mind that usually happens again and again over time, such as weekly talks with a counsellor or exercises with a physiotherapist.
Keys 1 to 4 pick an answer.
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