sneak

verb \ ˈsnēk \

Definition of sneak

sneaked play \ˈsnēkt\ or snuck play \ˈsnək\; sneaking

intransitive verb

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

transitive verb

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

sneak a smoke

— sneak up on

:to approach or act on stealthily

See sneak defined for English-language learners

See sneak defined for kids

sneaked vs. snuck

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.

Examples of sneak in a Sentence

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?

Recent Examples of sneak from the Web

Among other merits of this approach, the debt-limit increase, which is the main object of House Freedom Caucus demands for spending cuts at the moment, can sneak through.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Disaster Money May Give Congress a Way Out of Its Fiscal Crisis," 29 Aug. 2017
Using an old script from the Cutler Files, Glennon sneaks up behind coach John Fox and pulls the wool over his eyes.

— bernie lincicome, chicagotribune.com, "Not coming soon to your inbox: These (almost) believable press releases," 25 Aug. 2017
After 42 hours with no liquids at all, a night nurse snuck me a cup of ice chips.

— rachel stuhler, Cosmopolitan, "I Almost Died During Childbirth. I’m Not Alone.," 21 Aug. 2017
Some clients have to wait longer than others, and a wrasse sometimes spices up its diet by sneaking a painful bite of healthy scales and mucus.

— ben crair, Bloomberg.com, "The Secret Economic Lives of Animals," 1 Aug. 2017
Man sneaks into fire department and steals uniform A 50-year-old man was arrested and charged Friday with trespassing into a Delhi Township fire station and stealing a duty bag, that included a fire uniform shirt, according to a police report.

— chris graves, Cincinnati.com, "Crime notebook: Exhausted Hamilton County Judge Ted Berry, 'This is heroin central'," 28 July 2017
Brooklyn snuck back ahead with a run in the bottom of the fourth, but Aberdeen had another answer.

— randy mcroberts, The Aegis, "IronBirds leave Brooklyn with 4-3 win to take series," 26 July 2017
The campus lies six miles south of Lambeau Field, where nearly 50 years ago Lombardi exulted on the sideline when his quarterback, Bart Starr, sneaked across the goal line to beat the Cowboys in the Ice Bowl, played in minus-15° temperatures.

— tim layden, SI.com, "The MMQB All-Time Draft: The Ultimate Football Fantasy," 19 July 2017
Not to alarm you, fellow Chicagoans, but someone is trying to grift our fair city: Heinz, that ubiquitous purveyor of ketchup, is trying to sneak the red stuff on your hot dogs.

— joseph hernandez, chicagotribune.com, "Heinz trying to woo Chicagoans to do the unthinkable: Put ketchup on their hot dogs," 18 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sneak.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of sneak

akin to Old English snīcan to sneak along, Old Norse snīkja

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1594

See Words from the same year

sneak Synonyms

Synonyms

lurk, mooch, mouse, pussyfoot, shirk, skulk, slide, slink, slip, snake, steal

Related Words

crawl, creep, edge, inch, worm; ghost, pad, tiptoe

Synonym Discussion of 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

sneak

noun

Definition of sneak

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 2 —usually used in plural

4 :quarterback sneak

See sneak defined for English-language learners

Examples of sneak in a Sentence

What a rotten sneak! I should have known not to trust her.
He ran a sneak up the middle for a touchdown.

Recent Examples of sneak from the Web

The Red Devils also scored on an 8-yard TD run from Kam Fuller and a 1-yard sneak by Wimberly.

— kenzie winstead, The Courier-Journal, "QB Shaun Wimberly, Jeffersonville take to air to topple Seymour," 25 Aug. 2017
Since Season 1, Lord Baelish—AKA Littlefinger—has created a reputation for himself as a self-serving sneak with a love for the Stark women, including matriarch Catelyn Stark and, more recently, Sansa.

— chanel vargas, Harper's BAZAAR, "This Game of Thrones Fan Theory Gives Sinister Meaning to Arya and Sansa's Feud," 23 Aug. 2017
Bob Hope was there, having already seen Pride thanks to a sneak preview from Goldwyn.

— richard sandomir, vanityfair.com, "The Pride of the Yankees and the Night the Lights Went Out in Hollywood," 18 Aug. 2017
Wanting to provide a sneak attack, Gardinera, a land developer, didn’t wish to divulge his base offense or defense.

— don norcross, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Eastern League football preview," 15 Aug. 2017
Fans went wild for the exclusive sneak peek at the upcoming superhero pic, featuring star Chadwick Boseman T'Challa intercepting a sketchy vibranium trade between Andy Serkis' Klaw and Martin Freeman's Everett.

— Bloomberg.com, "Comic-Con Goes Wild for 'Black Panther'," 23 July 2017
Buy, sell, and trade kicks at this bonkers event at the Anaheim Convention Center, where more than 250 vendors and over 100,000 pairs of sneaks will be on ogle-able.

— marielle wakim, Los Angeles Magazine, "The 5 Most Interesting Things to Do In L.A. This Weekend," 21 July 2017
Listen to the trailer for a sneak preview of the show, and subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

— elaine godfrey, The Atlantic, "The Atlantic Politics & Policy Daily: A Room With a Few," 14 July 2017
Here's a sneak peek at what Bengals beat writers Paul Dehner Jr. and Jim Owczarski have cooked up for Training Camp and the preseason.

— Cincinnati.com, "Sneak peek: Bengals Training Camp and Preseason Coverage," 13 July 2017

First Known Use of sneak

circa 1643

sneak Synonyms

Synonyms

lurker, skulk, skulker, slyboots, sneaker

Related Words

skunk, snake, weasel; sharper, sharpie (or sharpy), slicker, swindler; snoop, snooper, spy; stalker

sneak

adjective

Definition of sneak

1 :carried on secretly :clandestine

2 :occurring without warning :surprise

a sneak attack

See sneak defined for English-language learners

Examples of sneak in a Sentence

a sneak attack on the nation's capitol

Recent Examples of sneak from the Web

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

— mehera bonner, Marie Claire, "Get Ready: Katy Perry Has Released a Sneak Peek of Her New Song," 15 Mar. 2017

First Known Use of sneak

circa 1859

sneak Synonyms

Synonyms

backstairs, behind-the-scenes, clandestine, covert, furtive, hole-and-corner, hugger-mugger, hush-hush, private, privy, secret, sneaking, sneaky, stealth, stealthy, surreptitious, undercover, underground, underhand, underhanded

Antonyms

open, overt, public

Related Words

back-channel, closed-door, off-the-books, off-the-record; classified, confidential, restricted, top secret, undisclosed; concealed, hidden, secreted, subterranean, unadvertised, unexposed

Near Antonyms

acknowledged, avowed; aboveboard, straightforward, unconcealed, undisguised; unclassified, unrestricted; clear, evident, manifest, obvious, patent, plain

SNEAK Defined for English Language Learners

sneak

verb

Definition of sneak for English Language Learners

: to move quietly and secretly in order to avoid being noticed
: to take or bring (something) secretly and often quickly
: to tell someone (such as a parent or teacher) about something wrong that someone else has done

sneak

noun

Definition of sneak for English Language Learners

: a person who acts in a secret and usually dishonest way

sneak

adjective

Definition of sneak for English Language Learners

: done while others are not paying attention

SNEAK Defined for Kids

sneak

verb \ ˈsnēk \

Definition of sneak for Students

sneaked \ˈsnēkt\ or snuck \ˈsnək\; sneaking

:to move, act, bring, put, or take in a sly or secret way

Ina-Rae lifted her desktop to sneak peeks at her valentines …
—Richard Peck, A Year Down Yonder

sneak

noun

Definition of sneak for Students

:a person who acts in a sly or secret way

Learn More about sneak

See words that rhyme with sneak Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for sneak Spanish Central: Translation of sneak Nglish: Translation of sneak for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of sneak for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up sneak? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

sneak

Definition of sneak

From the M-W Editors

Video: Sneaked vs. Snuck

sneaked vs. snuck

Examples of sneak in a Sentence

Recent Examples of sneak from the Web

Origin and Etymology of sneak

sneak Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Synonym Discussion of sneak

sneak

Definition of sneak

Examples of sneak in a Sentence

Recent Examples of sneak from the Web

First Known Use of sneak

sneak Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

sneak

Definition of sneak

Examples of sneak in a Sentence

Recent Examples of sneak from the Web

First Known Use of sneak

sneak Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Phrases Related to SNEAK

Related Phrases

SNEAK Defined for English Language Learners

sneak

Definition of sneak for English Language Learners

sneak

Definition of sneak for English Language Learners

sneak

Definition of sneak for English Language Learners

SNEAK Defined for Kids

sneak

Definition of sneak for Students

sneak

Definition of sneak for Students

Learn More about sneak

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

Learned Fools: On Names for Students

Trending: NY Times: Trump's Call Ignites 'Imbroglio'

The Exceptions Quiz III

17 English Words that Come From Japanese

Words of the Year: 1066