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sneak

noun
/sniːk/

Etymology

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.

  1. inherited from *snīkaną✻ — “to creep, crawl”
  2. inherited from *snīkan✻
  3. inherited from snīcan — “to creep, crawl”
  4. inherited from sniken — “to creep, crawl”

Definitions

  1. One who 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.

  2. The act of sneaking

  3. A cheat

    A cheat; a con artist.

    • I can't believe I gave that sneak $50 for a ticket when they were selling for $20 at the front gate.
  4. ›+ 12 more definitions

    1. An informer

      An informer; a tell-tale.

    2. A ball bowled so as to roll along the ground

      A ball bowled so as to roll along the ground; a daisy-cutter

    3. A sneaker

      A sneaker; a tennis shoe.

      • 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.

    4. A play where the quarterback receives the snap and immediately dives forward.

    5. Ellipsis of sneak preview

    6. To creep or go stealthily

      To creep or go stealthily; to come or go while trying to avoid detection, as a person who does not wish to be seen.

      • He decided to sneak into the kitchen for a second cookie while his mom was on the phone.
      • Some of these were dressed most gorgeously, others becomingly, and several sneaked in with fantail bangers, calling themselves "Gentlemen of the Nineteenth Century."

    7. To take something stealthily without permission.

      • I went to sneak a chocolate but my dad caught me.

    8. To stealthily bring someone something.

      • She asked me to sneak her a phone next month.

    9. To hide, especially in a mean or cowardly manner.

      • [Slander] sneaks its head.

    10. To inform an authority of another's misdemeanours.

      • If you sneak on me I'll bash you!

    11. In advance

      In advance; before release to the general public.

      • The company gave us a sneak look at their new electronic devices.

    12. In a stealthy or surreptitious manner.

      • I was able to get a sneak peek at the guest list.

The neighborhood

Derived

area sneak, goalsneak, sneakage, sneakbox, sneak-cup, sneak current, sneakish, sneak paddle, sneaksman, sneak around, sneaker, sneakery, sneakflation, sneakily, sneak in, sneakiness, sneaking suspicion, sneak out, sneak past, sneaksome, sneak thief, sneak up, sneaky, sneak peek, sneak preview, sneak attack

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for sneak. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA