What does snuffed mean?
Snuffed is the past tense and past participle of the verb snuff, most commonly meaning to extinguish a flame or put out a cigarette. It can also mean to terminate or put an end to something. In informal British usage, “snuffed” and “snuffed out” can mean killed, while “snuff it” means to die. The literal sense is neutral and familiar, whereas the slang senses can sound comic, brutal, or deliberately exaggerated. The word appears in phrases such as “snuff out a candle,” “snuff out a cigarette,” and “get snuffed.” It is useful because it describes both the small, ordinary act of extinguishing something and, in colloquial expression, the dramatic finality of death or destruction.
To extinguish a flame, cigarette, or other source of light or heat; to put out.
"The firefighter snuffed the burning debris with a blanket."
This is the standard literal sense and is neutral in register.
Informally, to kill someone or put an end to something.
"The gang threatened to snuff him if he talked."
The killing sense is informal and dramatic, particularly in the phrase “get snuffed.”
Extinguished or put out; informally, killed.
"A snuffed cigarette lay in the ashtray."
As an adjective, it is most often used attributively or in expressions such as “a snuffed-out cigarette” and “the get-snuffed threat.”
From putting out a flame to being “snuffed out” altogether, this word has moved from the literal to the unmistakable slang of being killed.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does snuffed come from?
The word comes from Middle English snuffen, meaning to extinguish, suppress, or put out, and is the past tense and past participle form snuffed. The related noun snuff, meaning powdered tobacco for inhalation, helped produce compounds such as snuffbox; a snuffer is a device used to extinguish a candle or wick. The word’s later informal senses developed from the idea of extinguishing something completely and thus ending its life.
How snuffed is actually used
The literal sense is neutral. The senses meaning “kill” or “die” are informal and often dramatic or humorous, with “get snuffed” especially associated with British and criminal slang.
Easily confused with snuffed
As a noun, snuff is finely powdered tobacco, while snuffed is the past tense and past participle of snuff, as in extinguishing a flame.