sneak
English
Etymology
Possibly from Middle English sniken (“to creep, crawl”), though the OED doubts this, or from Old English snīcan (“to desire, reach for sneakily”), from Proto-Germanic *snīkaną, which is related to the root of snake.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sniːk/
Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -iːk
Noun
sneak (plural sneaks)
- One who sneaks; one who moves stealthily to acquire an item or information.
- My little brother is such a sneak; yesterday I caught him trying to look through my diary.
- A cheat; a con artist; a trickster
- I can't believe I gave that sneak $50 for a ticket when they were selling for $20 at the front gate.
- An informer; a tell-tale.
- (obsolete, cricket) A ball bowled so as to roll along the ground; a daisy-cutter
- (US) A sneaker; a tennis shoe.
- 2014, Faye McKnight, Goodnight, Bob (page 9)
- We would have been laughed off the street in Philadelphia if we were seen wearing sneaks. In the big city, the young population wore loafers or boots.
- 2014, Faye McKnight, Goodnight, Bob (page 9)
Translations
a cheat; con artist; trickster
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Verb
sneak (third-person singular simple present sneaks, present participle sneaking, simple past and past participle sneaked or snuck)
- (intransitive) To creep or go stealthily; to come or go while trying to avoid detection, as a person who does not wish to be seen.
- Synonym: skulk
- He decided to sneak into the kitchen for a second cookie while his mom was on the phone.
- (transitive) To take something stealthily without permission.
- I went to sneak a chocolate but my dad caught me.
- (ditransitive) To stealthily bring someone something.
- She asked me to sneak her a phone next month.
- (transitive, dated) To hide, especially in a mean or cowardly manner.
- Wake
- [Slander] sneaks its head.
- Wake
- (intransitive) (informal, especially with on) To inform an authority of another's misdemeanours; to tell tales; to grass; to snitch.
- If you sneak on me I'll bash you!
Usage notes
- The past and past participle snuck is primarily found in North American English, where it originated in the late 19th century as a dialectal form. It is still regarded as informal by some, but its use appears to be increasing in frequency and acceptability. It is occasionally found in British and Australian/Hiberno-English, too, though regarded as an American form. (See Oxford Dictionaries, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, Webster's New World College Dictionary.)
- Informally, snook is also often found as the past tense. It is considered nonstandard.
- To sneak (take) something is not the same as to steal something. In this sense, sneak typically implies trying to avoid a supervisor's or guardian's mild displeasure or mild discipline, while steal indicates a more serious action and often the person stealing does not know the owner of the item being stolen.
Derived terms
- sneak around
- sneak away
- sneaker
- sneakily
- sneak in
- sneakiness
- sneaking suspicion
- sneak off
- sneak out
- sneak peek
- sneak preview
- sneaksome
- sneak thief
- sneak up/sneak up on
- sneaky
Translations
to creep
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to take something stealthily
to hide in a mean or cowardly manner
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to inform an authority about another's misdemeanours
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Adjective
sneak (not comparable)
- In advance; before release to the general public.
- The company gave us a sneak look at their new electronic devices.
- In a stealthy or surreptitious manner.
- I was able to get a sneak peek at the guest list.
Derived terms
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