a child who spends most of the time in the streets, esp in a slum area
2.
a person regarded as having the behaviour, morals, etc, of one brought up in squalor
Derived forms
guttersnipish (ˈgutterˌsnipish)
adjective
Word origin
C19: originally a name applied to the common snipe (the bird), then to a person whogathered refuse from gutters in city streets
guttersnipe in American English
(ˈgʌtərˌsnaɪp)
noun
a child of the slums who spends most of his or her time in the streets: contemptuous term applied to anyone regarded as having the manners, morals, etc. of the gutter
Word origin
orig. (Brit dial.), the common snipe, which picks food out of gutters
Synonyms of 'guttersnipe'
street urchin, waif, ragamuffin, mudlark
More Synonyms of guttersnipe
(noun)
Definition
a child who spends most of his or her time in the streets, usually in a slum area
a guttersnipe who wandered barefoot through the town