snap election

Syllables: snap elect·ionUK/ˌsnæp ɪˈlɛkʃ(ə)n//ˌsnæp iˈlɛkʃ(ə)n/

snap election noun: an election that is called earlier than the regularly scheduled election time.

Noun

snap election (plural snap elections)

An election that is called earlier than the regularly scheduled election time.
- A legislature should no more encourage and sustain snap elections, than a court should encourage and sustain snap judgment.1852, “No. 18. Notes and Comments Submitted by S. R. Mallory, of Florida, upon the Printed Statements and Arguments Addressed to the Select Committee of the United States Senate, by and in behalf of...
- The echoes of the election of President by snap election ticket, which had been brewing sub rosa for almost a year, forced these views upon my mind.1887 September, Clara Brinkerhoff, “Art or Trade?: The Music Teachers’ National Association Dividing into an Eastern and a Western Wing”, in Edgar S. Werner, editor, The Voice: Devoted to the Human...

திடீர்த் தேர்தல்

There would not be anything in the nature of a snap election.1942 December 4, Peter Fraser, Prime Minister, “Business of the House”, in New Zealand. Parliamentary Debates. Fourth Session, Twenty-sixth...
Last year, in an excess of arrogance, the dictatorship called for its doom in a snap election.1986 September 22, Corazon Aquino, “Speech during the Joint Session of the US Congress 1986”, in Anna Russell, So Here I Am: Speeches by...
By dissolving the Lower House and calling a snap election, Thaksin [Shinawatra] intended to release the pressure from street protesters led by the PAD who had been demanding his immediate resignation.2006, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, “Thaksin’s Political Zenith and Nadir”, in Daljit Singh, Lorraine C[arlos] Salazar, editors, Southeast Asian...
Spain’s PM calls snap election after conservative and far-right wins in local polls [title]2023 May 29, Sam Jones, “Spain’s PM calls snap election after conservative and far-right wins in local polls”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

plural	snap elections

From snap (“done, performed, etc., quickly and unexpectedly”) + election.

44 more rhymesFewer rhymes

What does snap election mean?: Snap election means an election that is called earlier than the regularly scheduled election time.
What is snap election in Tamil?: Snap election in Tamil is திடீர்த் தேர்தல். See Snap election meaning in Tamil.
How do you use snap election in a sentence?: There would not be anything in the nature of a snap election.
What part of speech is snap election?: Snap election is a noun.
How do you pronounce snap election?: Snap election is pronounced /ˌsnæp ɪˈlɛkʃ(ə)n/ (UK).
What is the plural of snap election?: The plural of snap election is snap elections.

Adapted from Wiktionary: snap election (page history and authors); snap election (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-snap election.mp3.

Cite this entry: “snap election.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/snap_election. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.