sneak

sneak
verb (past and past participle sneaked or informal, chiefly N. Amer. snuck)
1》 move, go, or convey in a furtive or stealthy manner.
    ↘stealthily do or obtain: she sneaked a glance at her watch.
2》 Brit. informal inform someone in authority of a person's misdeeds.
noun informal
1》 Brit. a telltale.
2》 a furtive person.
3》 N. Amer. short for sneaker.
adjective acting or done surreptitiously: a sneak preview.
Origin
C16: prob. dialect; perh. related to obs. snike 'to creep'.
Usage
The standard past form of sneak is sneaked. An alternative past form, snuck, arose in US dialect in the 19th century. Although snuck was formerly regarded as non-standard its use has spread in the US, where it is now regarded as a standard alternative to sneaked in all but the most formal contexts.

English new terms dictionary. 2014.

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  • sneak — sneak; sneak·er; sneak·i·ly; sneak·i·ness; sneak·ish; sneak·ing·ly; sneak·ing·ness; sneak·ish·ly; sneak·ish·ness; …   English syllables

  • Sneak — may refer to:*DJ Sneak, Puerto Rican DJ *Keak Da Sneak, rapper from Oakland, California *The Sneaks, band from New Zealand *Quarterback sneak, a term in American football *Sneakbox, type of small boat *Sneak magazine, British weekly magazine *The …   Wikipedia

  • Sneak — steht für: Sneak Preview, eine Art Vorpremiere eines Kinofilms Sneak ist der Name folgender Personen: DJ Sneak (* 1970, bürgerlich Carlos Sosa), puerto ricanischer House DJ und Produzent Keak da Sneak (* 1977, bürgerlich Charles Toby Bowens), ein …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • sneak up on — [phrasal verb] sneak up on (someone) 1 : to approach (someone) quietly and secretly in order to avoid being noticed My father likes to sneak up on my mother and tickle her. Don t sneak up on me like that! 2 : to approach, happen, or develop… …   Useful english dictionary

  • sneak´i|ly — sneak|y «SNEE kee», adjective, sneak|i|er, sneak|i|est. cowardly, mean, or contemptible: »They dropped their eyes and looked sneaky (Mark Twain). –sneak´i|ly, adverb …   Useful english dictionary

  • sneak|y — «SNEE kee», adjective, sneak|i|er, sneak|i|est. cowardly, mean, or contemptible: »They dropped their eyes and looked sneaky (Mark Twain). –sneak´i|ly, adverb …   Useful english dictionary

  • sneak — [snēk] vi. ☆ sneaked or Informal snuck, sneaking [prob. < OE * snecan, akin to snican, to crawl: for IE base see SNAIL] 1. to move quietly and stealthily so as to avoid being seen or heard; go furtively 2. to be a sneak; behave in a stealthy,… …   English World dictionary

  • Sneak — (sn[=e]k), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Sneaked} (sn[=e]kt); p. pr. & vb. n. {Sneaking}.] [OE. sniken, AS. sn[=i]can to creep; akin to Dan. snige sig; cf. Icel. sn[=i]kja to hanker after.] 1. To creep or steal (away or about) privately; to come or go… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Sneak — Sneak, v. t. To hide, esp. in a mean or cowardly manner. [Obs.] [Slander] sneaks its head. Wake. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Sneak — Sneak, n. 1. A mean, sneaking fellow. [1913 Webster] A set of simpletons and superstitious sneaks. Glanvill. [1913 Webster] 2. (Cricket) A ball bowled so as to roll along the ground; called also {grub}. [Cant] R. A. Proctor. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • sneak — [n] person who is very dishonest cheater, con artist, coward, cur, dastard, heel*, informer, louse, rascal, reptile, scoundrel, skunk*, slink*, snake*, snake in grass*, toad*, weasel*, wretch; concept 412 sneak [v] move stealthily ambush, case,… …   New thesaurus

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