sneak

Formssneaks, sneaking, sneaked

Pluralsneaks

1. 1
   verbintransitive

   To move quietly and secretly, coming or going in a way meant to avoid being seen or noticed.

   We sneaked out the back door while the speeches were still going on.

   Some teenagers sneak into the theater through the side exit.

   Similarsteal, slink, skulk

   Note

   Two past forms compete, sneaked and snuck, and either can follow have: she sneaked out, she has snuck in. The near synonyms differ in tone. To slink adds shame, to skulk adds lurking menace, and to steal, used of movement, is the most literary of the three.

2. 2
   take secretlyverbtransitive

   To take something quietly and secretly, without permission.

   He sneaked a cigarette behind the barn when no one was looking.

   Kids at the party kept trying to sneak cookies from the dessert table.

   Similarsteal, snatch, pinch

3. 3
   give secretlyverb

   To bring someone something secretly, so that others do not notice.

   Her grandmother would sneak her a twenty-dollar bill whenever her parents weren't looking.

   A guard sneaked the prisoner a note hidden in a loaf of bread.

   Similarslip, smuggle

4. 4
   nouncountable

   A person who moves about stealthily to get hold of something or to find out information.

   Some sneak has been going through my desk drawers while I'm at lunch.

   The office sneak always seemed to have read the memos before anyone else.

   Similarsnoop, spy

   Note

   Behind the word may lie Old English snīcan, "to creep, crawl", a relative of the root that gave English snake, and the noun keeps that crawling image. Calling someone a sneak, often with such ("such a sneak"), accuses them of going behind your back rather than of any open wrong.

5. 5
   adjective

   Available before the public can normally see, hear, or use it.

   The studio held a sneak screening of the film two weeks before it opened.

   Fan club members got a sneak listen to three songs from the new album.

   Similaradvance, early

   Note

   Before a noun of looking or hearing, sneak means early rather than secret: a sneak look, a sneak listen, a sneak screening. Sneak peek can lean either way. A company's sneak peek at a new phone is an advance look, but a sneak peek at a guest list is the stealthy kind.

6. 6
   adjective

   Done stealthily or in secret, so as not to be noticed.

   The army launched a sneak attack on the camp before dawn.

   A sneak thief slipped in through the open window and took her purse.

   Similarcovert, secret, stealthy

7. 7
   film previewnouncolloquialabbreviationellipsis

   Short for sneak preview.

   The studio held a sneak of the comedy in a suburban theater to test the ending.

   The audience at the sneak cheered so loudly that the director kept the scene.

   Note

   The clipped form behaves like any countable noun in movie-trade talk, a sneak or two sneaks, and it takes of before the film: a sneak of The Sandpiper. Outside the trade, the full sneak preview is clearer, since a bare sneak could just as well mean a stealthy person.

8. 8
   nouncountable

   The act of moving or going stealthily.

   After a quick sneak past the guard, they were inside the building.

   The cat made a slow sneak across the yard toward the birds.

   Similarcreep

9. 9
   informernouncountable

   Someone who informs on others, especially by telling tales to those in authority.

   Nobody in the dorm trusted him once they learned he was the principal's sneak.

   "Don't be a sneak," she hissed as her brother reached for the phone to call their mother.

   Similarinformer, rat, grass, informant, fink

10. 10
    tell onverbcolloquialintransitivewith on

    To report another person's misbehavior to someone in authority; used with on.

    Somebody sneaked on us, and the whole class lost recess.

    If you sneak on your teammates, don't expect them to trust you again.

    Similarsnitch, grass

Showing meanings only. Show all 15