What does snow mean?
Snow refers to the ice crystals that form when atmospheric water freezes and falls to the ground as flakes or gathers into a white covering. It is especially associated with cold winter conditions, though snowfall can occur in many places and at different times of year. As a verb, snow describes snowfall or the process of becoming covered or obscured by snow, as in “the hills snowed over.” In informal North American English, it can also mean to deceive or trick someone. The word is useful because it combines a precise meteorological meaning with several familiar figurative and colloquial uses, while its related forms—such as snowy, snowfall, snowflake, and snowstorm—form a productive vocabulary for describing winter weather and conditions.
Atmospheric water frozen into ice crystals that falls to the ground as flakes or accumulates as a white covering.
"Children played in the deep snow after school."
The word can denote the substance itself, a snowfall, or the season or conditions associated with it.
To fall as snow or to cover or become covered with snow.
"It snowed heavily throughout the night."
Informally, this verb can also mean to deceive or trick someone.
The plural is relatively uncommon in modern English; it is used especially for successive or accumulated snowfalls or for a season characterized by snow.
"The early snoes of winter transformed the hills."
Snow is both a thing that falls from the sky and a verb for being covered by it; in informal English, it can also mean to deceive someone.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does snow come from?
The English word comes from Old English snāw, meaning snow; the older form had several grammatical variants. It is cognate with Germanic words including German Schnee, Dutch sneeuw, and Old Norse snjár. The modern English sense of “to deceive” developed much later through informal American usage.
Related word forms
How snow is actually used
Snow is standard in British and American English. The informal sense meaning to deceive is especially common in North American English, while the noun also appears in expressions such as “in the snow” and “snowed in.”
Easily confused with snow
Snow consists of ice crystals that fall as flakes, whereas sleet is a mixture of rain and melting snow or small ice pellets.