sneak

v., sneaked, also snuck (snŭk), sneak·ing, sneaks.

v.intr.

1. To go or move in a quiet, stealthy way.
2. To behave in a cowardly or servile manner.

v.tr.
To move, give, take, or put in a quiet, stealthy manner: sneak candy into one's mouth; sneaked a look at the grade sheet.

n.

1. A person regarded as stealthy, cowardly, or underhanded.
2. An instance of sneaking; a quiet, stealthy movement.
3. Informal. A sneaker.

adj.

1. Carried out in a clandestine manner: sneak preparations for war.
2. Perpetrated without warning: a sneak attack.

[Probably akin to Middle English sniken, to creep, from Old English snīcan.]

USAGE NOTE   Snuck is an Americanism first introduced in the 19th century as a nonstandard regional variant of sneaked. Widespread use of snuck has become more common with every generation. It is now used by educated speakers in all regions. Formal written English is more conservative than other varieties, of course, and here snuck still meets with much resistance. Many writers and editors have a lingering unease about the form, particularly if they recall its nonstandard origins. And 67 percent of the Usage Panel disapproved of snuck in our 1988 survey. Nevertheless, an examination of recent sources shows that snuck is sneaking up on sneaked. Snuck was almost 20 percent more common in newspaper articles published in 1995 than it was in 1985. Snuck also appears in the work of many respected columnists and authors: "He ran up huge hotel bills and then snuck out without paying" (George Stade). "He had snuck away from camp with a cabinmate" (Anne Tyler). "I ducked down behind the paperbacks and snuck out" (Garrison Keillor).

verb

1. To move silently and furtively: creep, glide, lurk, mouse, prowl, pussyfoot, skulk, slide, slink, slip, snake, steal. Slang gumshoe. See move/halt.
2. To bring in or take out secretly: smuggle, spirit. See move/halt.

noun

One who behaves in a stealthy, furtive way: prowler, sneaker, weasel. See move/halt.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: someone who prowls or sneaks about; usually with unlawful intentions
  Synonyms: prowler, stalker

Meaning #2: someone acting as an informer or decoy for the police
  Synonyms: fink, snitch, snitcher, stoolpigeon, stoolie, sneaker, canary

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The verb sneak has 4 meanings:

Meaning #1: to go stealthily or furtively
  Synonyms: mouse, creep, steal, pussyfoot
  Also see: sneak away (meaning #1), sneak out (meaning #1)

Meaning #2: put, bring, or take in a secretive or furtive manner

Meaning #3: make off with belongings of others
  Synonyms: pilfer, cabbage, purloin, pinch, abstract, snarf, swipe, hook, filch, nobble, lift

Meaning #4: pass on stealthily
  Synonym: slip

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The adjective sneak has one meaning:

Meaning #1: marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed
  Synonyms: furtive, lurking, skulking, sneaky, stealthy, surreptitious

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Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - luske, liste, liste sig, snige sig
v. tr. - hugge, stjæle, smugle
n. - lusken, luskepeter, fedtemål, fedthas, sladrehank
adj. - liste-

idioms:

• sneak preview    forpremiere
• sneak thief    listetyv
• sneak up on    liste sig ind på

Nederlands (Dutch)
sluipen, stiekem doen

Français (French)
v. intr. - s'éclipser discrètement, (GB) rapporter, moucharder
v. tr. - manger/fumer (qch) en cachette, piquer, voler, regarder furtivement
n. - mouchard, sournois
adj. - en traître, furtif

idioms:

• sneak preview    (Cin, fig) avant-première
• sneak thief    chapardeur
• sneak up on    s'approcher sans bruit de

Deutsch (German)
n. - Petze, hinterhältige Person
v. - schleichen, (Slang) petzen, klauen, stecken
adj. - gepetzt

idioms:

• sneak preview    inoffizielle Vorpremiere
• sneak thief    Einschleichdieb
• sneak up on    sich heranschleichen an

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - μαρτυριάρης, μπαμπέσης
v. - γλιστρώ κρυφά και αθόρυβα, παρεισφρέω, (καθομ.) κλέβω, βουτάω, καρφώνω, καταδίδω

idioms:

• sneak preview    ειδική προβολή (πριν την επίσημη πρεμιέρα), αβάν-πρεμιέρ
• sneak thief    μικρολωποδύτης, πορτοφολάς
• sneak up on    πλησιάζω κλεφτά, αιφνιδιάζω

Italiano (Italian)
insinuarsi

idioms:

• sneak preview    anteprima
• sneak thief    ladruncolo
• sneak up on    insinuarsi alle spalle di, avvicinarsi furtivamente

Português (Portuguese)
n. - delator (m), pessoa covarde, desprezível, movimento furtivo
v. - surripiar, furtar, bajular

idioms:

• sneak preview    antestreia
• sneak thief    larápio (m)
• sneak up on    pé ante pé, aproximar-se furtivamente de alguém

Русский (Russian)
красться, ускользать, делать украдкой, ябедничать, устраивать закрытый просмотр, красть понемногу, трус, подлец, вор, ябеда, мяч, катящийся по земле, закрытый предварительный просмотр

idioms:

• sneak preview    закрытый предварительный просмотр
• sneak thief    вор, совершающий кражу без взлома
• sneak up on    подкрадываться

Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - moverse a hurtadillas, escabullirse, deslizarse
v. tr. - mover, sacar o meter furtivamente, hurtar, ratear
n. - moverse a hurtadillas, escabullirse
adj. - persona ruin, cobarde o solapada, soplón, movimiento furtivo, escabullimiento

idioms:

• sneak preview    estreno preliminar
• sneak thief    ratero, ladrón de guante blanco
• sneak up on    sorprender

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - smygande, hemlighet, lurifax, skvallerbytta
v. - smyga, smussla, smuggla, smyga sig till

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
鬼鬼祟祟做事, 偷窃, 偷偷取得, 偷偷地做, 偷偷地吃, 偷偷摸摸的人, 鬼鬼祟祟的人, 溜走, 不告而别, 告密者, 偷偷摸摸的勾当, 暗中进行的

idioms:

• sneak preview    影片未公开宣布前的预演
• sneak thief    顺手牵羊的小偷
• sneak up on    不知不觉地来到

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 鬼鬼祟祟做事
v. tr. - 偷竊, 偷偷取得, 偷偷地做, 偷偷地吃
n. - 偷偷摸摸的人, 鬼鬼祟祟的人, 溜走, 不告而別, 告密者, 偷偷摸摸的勾當
adj. - 暗中進行的

idioms:

• sneak preview    影片未公開宣佈前的預演
• sneak thief    順手牽羊的小偷
• sneak up on    不知不覺地來到

한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - 몰래 돌아다니다, 비열하게 굴다, 남의 비밀을 퍼뜨리다
v. tr. - 살짝 가지고 들어가다, 가만히 하다, 슬쩍 훔치다
n. - 몰래하기, 고자질쟁이, 고무창의 즈크 운동화
adj. - 남몰래 하는, 은밀한, 느닷없는

idioms:

• sneak up on    몰래 다가가다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - こそこそ動く, こっそり手に入れる, 先生に告げ口する
n. - こそこそした人, 卑劣な人, 告げ口屋, こそこそする人
adj. - 内密の

idioms:

• sneak preview    映画の試写会
• sneak thief    空き巣ねらい
• sneak up on    こっそり忍び寄る

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) ألجبان, أللص ألمتسلل, حذاء خفيف (فعل) ينم على زملائه, ينسل أو يتسلل, يسرق‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - ‮התחמק, חמק, התגנב‬
v. tr. - ‮גנב, סחב, הלשין‬
n. - ‮חמקן, מלשין‬
adj. - ‮נבזה, שפל, לא צפוי, מפתיע‬

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Sneak Suit