sneak

1 of 3

verb

ˈsnēk

sneaked ˈsnēkt

or snuck ˈsnək

; sneaking

Synonyms of sneak next

intransitive verb

: to go stealthily or furtively : slink

snuck out early

: to act in or as if in a furtive manner

: to carry the football on a quarterback sneak

transitive verb

: to put, bring, or take in a furtive or artful manner

sneak a smoke

Sneaked vs. Snuck: Usage Guide

From its earliest appearance in print in the late 19th century as a dialectal and probably uneducated form, the past and past participle snuck has risen to the status of standard and to approximate equality with sneaked. It is most common in the U.S. and Canada but has also been spotted in British and Australian English.

sneak

2 of 3

noun

: a person who acts in a stealthy, furtive, or shifty manner

: a stealthy or furtive move

: an unobserved departure or escape

: sneaker sense 2

—usually used in plural

: quarterback sneak

sneak

3 of 3

adjective

: carried on secretly : clandestine

: occurring without warning : surprise

a sneak attack

Phrases

sneak up on

: to approach or act on stealthily

Choose the Right Synonym for sneak

lurk, skulk, slink, sneak mean to behave so as to escape attention.

lurk implies a lying in wait in a place of concealment and often suggests an evil intent.

suspicious men lurking in alleyways

skulk suggests more strongly cowardice or fear or sinister intent.

something skulking in the shadows

slink implies moving stealthily often merely to escape attention.

slunk around the corner

sneak may add an implication of entering or leaving a place or evading a difficulty by furtive or underhanded methods.

sneaked out early

Examples of sneak in a Sentence

Verb They tried to sneak into the movie without paying. She sneaked some cigars through customs. He snuck a few cookies out of the jar while his mother wasn't looking. They caught him trying to sneak food into the theater. Can I sneak a peek at your quiz answers? Noun What a rotten sneak! I should have known not to trust her. He ran a sneak up the middle for a touchdown. Adjective a sneak attack on the nation's capitol See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The holidays have snuck up again, and so has that elusive, exclusive weekend Sharpie-circled in every beauty lover's calendar: Black Friday 2023 (eep!). —

Sarah Han, Allure, 20 Nov. 2023 Somewhere along the way, Rihanna and Rocky snuck out, but the rest of us poured out into the pits and cheered for Charles. —

Corey Seymour, Vogue, 20 Nov. 2023 Wrestling with the disappointment of another championship-less season in college, the potential end of Williams’ short, but thrilling, two-year USC career snuck up on the quarterback. —

Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 16 Nov. 2023 Our girl Taylor Swift also snuck in with a win for Most Popular International Artist. —

Alexandra Koster, refinery29.com, 15 Nov. 2023 This may be true, but the day after has a habit of sneaking up while the parties are unprepared. —

Dahlia Scheindlin, The New Republic, 3 Nov. 2023 And with both teams sitting on three wins, the loser can basically forget about sneaking into the bowl season. —

Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Oct. 2023 But the big surge in fentanyl isn’t due to immigrants sneaking it over an unguarded border. —

Mary Beth Sheridan, Washington Post, 9 Nov. 2023 Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti snuck in as a bona fide blockbuster, but Karol G’s all-Spanish Mañana Será Bonito could have a harder time without the same streaming numbers. —

Vulture, 7 Nov. 2023

Noun

Many of these plays are the more traditional sneak—violent and messy, with bodies writhing everywhere. —

Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2023 New details include that Musk single-handedly scuttled a Ukrainian sneak attack on a Russian naval fleet in Crimea (more on that below). —

Will Oremus, Washington Post, 10 Sep. 2023 The Beavers scored touchdowns on three of their four first-half possessions, twice on 1-yard sneaks by Uiagalelei. —

Ndaschel, oregonlive, 3 Sep. 2023 Seven plays later, Huhn scored on a 1-yard sneak for the game’s first score. —

Rick Hoff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Sep. 2023 Hurts lined up for a sneak and was shoved forward just far enough for a first down. —

Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2023 Where’s her sneak visit to a hair salon that was officially shuttered during the Covid lockdown but opened exclusively for her? —

Armond White, National Review, 25 Oct. 2023 With 2 minutes, 24 seconds remaining and the Steelers leading by a touchdown, Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett tried a sneak on fourth-and-one but clearly came up short. —

Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2023 Simpson threw the ball a bit better and scored a touchdown late on a QB sneak, but the passing game overall was rough. —

Matt Stahl | Mstahl@al.com, al, 17 Sep. 2023

Adjective

Get Ready: Katy Perry Has Released a Sneak Peek of Her New Song And the internet has receipts. —

Mehera Bonner, Marie Claire, 15 Mar. 2017 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sneak.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.