sneak

Noun

1. One who sneaks; one who moves stealthily to acquire an item or information.
2. The act of sneaking
3. A cheat; a con artist.
4. An informer; a tell-tale.
5. (obsolete) A ball bowled so as to roll along the ground; a daisy-cutter
6. (US) A sneaker; a tennis shoe.
7. A play where the quarterback receives the snap and immediately dives forward.
8. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis) Ellipsis of sneak preview

Verb

1. (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.
2. (transitive) To take something stealthily without permission.
3. (ditransitive) To stealthily bring someone something.
4. (dated, transitive) To hide, especially in a mean or cowardly manner.
5. (informal, intransitive, with-on) To inform an authority of another's misdemeanours.

Adj

1. (not-comparable) In advance; before release to the general public.
2. (not-comparable) In a stealthy or surreptitious manner.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/sniːk/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: sniken

Inherited from Old English: snīcan

Cognate with Danish: snige

Cognate with Swedish: snika

Cognate with Icelandic: sníkja

In summary

Possibly from Middle English sniken (“to creep, crawl”), from Old English snīcan (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-West Germanic *snīkan, from Proto-Germanic *snīkaną (“to creep, crawl”), which is related to the root of snake. Compare Danish snige (“to sneak”), Swedish snika (“to sneak, hanker after”), Icelandic sníkja (“to sneak, hanker after”). Possibly related to snitch.

Synonyms

creep

snitch

slink

steal

lurk

slip

stalk

pinch

sneaky

still hunt

prowl

surreptitious

nobble

stalker

lift

snitcher

shirk

sneaker

snarf

hook

🪝

steal up on

stealthy

stoolpigeon

glide

furtive

stool pigeon

crawl

tattletale

stoolie

swipe

fink

filch

squealer

nark

sneak in

mouse

🐭

cabbage

smuggle

rove

pussyfoot

prowler

abstract

purloin

canary

pilfer

skulk

hush-hush

heel

hangdog

backstairs