What does snorting mean?
Snorting is the present participle of snort, a verb describing a forceful breath made through the nose. The sound is usually rough, loud, and vibrating, and it is especially associated with horses and other animals. People may snort when laughing contemptuously, expressing dismissal, or reacting with anger or excitement, so the word can carry a disparaging or humorous tone depending on context. For example, “the horse was snorting at the gate” describes an animal’s sound, while “she was snorting with laughter” suggests a boisterous, dismissive laugh. Snorting should not be confused with snoring: although both involve noisy breathing through the nose, snorting usually occurs while awake and implies greater force, whereas snoring is principally associated with sleep.
verbThe present participle of snort: to breathe through the nose with a loud, rough, vibrating sound. It can also describe making a contemptuous, dismissive, or loud laughing sound.
- Breathing through the nose with a loud, rough, vibrating sound.
- Making a short, contemptuous or dismissive sound with the nose, sometimes accompanied by laughter.
- Showing intense anger or excitement in a loud, forceful manner.
"The horse stood by the fence, snorting impatiently as the storm approached."
"The bull was snorting and stamping its feet behind the gate."
"She was snorting with laughter at the absurdity of the situation."
A snort can be a horse’s protest, a person’s derisive laugh, or the sound of someone loudly breathing through the nose.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does snorting come from?
The base word snort is an English verb that developed in the Middle English period and is generally regarded as imitative in origin, echoing the sound made through the nose. Its older meanings included breathing noisily through the nose, grunting, and blowing the nose. The present-participle form snorting follows the ordinary English pattern of adding -ing to a verb.
Related word forms
How snorting is actually used
As the -ing form of snort, snorting is used in progressive constructions such as “is snorting.” It also functions as a gerund in phrases such as “the snorting of the horses” and as a modifier, as in “a snorting stallion.” The word is more common in descriptions of animals, laughter, or forceful behavior than in neutral descriptions of ordinary breathing.
Easily confused with snorting
Snorting involves forceful nasal breathing through the nose, while snoring usually occurs during sleep and is produced by vibration of the soft palate and throat tissues.