1
: to go stealthily or furtively : slink
snuck out early
2
: to act in or as if in a furtive manner
3
: to carry the football on a quarterback sneak
: 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.
1
: a person who acts in a stealthy, furtive, or shifty manner
2
a
: a stealthy or furtive move
b
: an unobserved departure or escape
3
: sneaker sense 2
—usually used in plural
1
: carried on secretly : clandestine
2
: occurring without warning : surprise
a sneak attack
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
Recent Examples on the Web
Keith Langston, People.com, 21 June 2025
Universal Studios Florida began its iteration of the attraction in 1990, SyFy noted, featuring, of course, a (mechanical) great white shark that snuck up on riders of the boat tour.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025
Philip Elliott, Time, 23 June 2025
Israel claims its sneak attack on Iran represents a preemptive strike aimed at destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities before the country acquires an atomic bomb.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 16 June 2025
Mehera Bonner, Marie Claire, 15 Mar. 2017
See All Example Sentences for sneak
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Verb
Cane then sneaks up from behind and kills Grady’s men, freeing his father.
—Keith Langston, People.com, 21 June 2025
Universal Studios Florida began its iteration of the attraction in 1990, SyFy noted, featuring, of course, a (mechanical) great white shark that snuck up on riders of the boat tour.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025
Noun
As Washington considered the far-reaching implications for foreign policy, the politics of the moment were equally up in the air as Democrats can’t decide whether to respond with a roar or a whimper to Donald Trump's once-in-a-generation sneak attack.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 23 June 2025
Israel claims its sneak attack on Iran represents a preemptive strike aimed at destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities before the country acquires an atomic bomb.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 16 June 2025
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 All Example Sentences for sneak
Video
Sneaked vs. Snuck
How the irregular 'snuck' sneaked into the dictionary
Cite this Entry
“Sneak.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sneak. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sneak
2 of 3 noun1
: a person who acts in a secret or sly manner
2
: the act or an instance of sneaking
sneak
3 of 3 adjective1
: carried on secretly : clandestine
2
: occurring without warning
a sneak attack
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