sneak

Possibly from Middle English sniken (“to creep, crawl”), from Old English snīcan (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-West Germanic *snīkan, from Proto-Germanic *snīkaną (“to creep, crawl”), which is related to the root of snake. Compare Danish snige (“to sneak”), Swedish snika (“to sneak, hanker after”), Icelandic sníkja (“to sneak, hanker after”). Possibly related to snitch.

• IPA^(key): /sniːk/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːk

sneak (plural sneaks)

1. One who sneaks; one who moves stealthily to acquire an item or information.

   My little brother is such a sneak; yesterday I caught him trying to look through my diary.

2. The act of sneaking
3. A cheat; a con artist.

   Synonyms: con artist, trickster; see also Thesaurus:confidence trickster, Thesaurus:deceiver

   I can't believe I gave that sneak $50 for a ticket when they were selling for $20 at the front gate.

4. An informer; a tell-tale.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:informant

5. (obsolete, cricket) A ball bowled so as to roll along the ground; a daisy-cutter
6. (US) A sneaker; a tennis shoe.
   • 2014, Faye McKnight, Goodnight, Bob, page 9:

     We would have been laughed off the street in Philadelphia if we were seen wearing sneaks. In the big city, the young population wore loafers or boots.

7. (American football) A play where the quarterback receives the snap and immediately dives forward.
8. (movie theaters) Ellipsis of sneak preview
   • 1965 December 26, Peter Barthollywood, “On the Cuff in Darkest Bel-Air”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 July 2025, section X, page 9‎^[2]:

     At a "sneak preview," of course, the public is also on hand and can make their reactions felt much to the humiliation of the principals. At a sneak of "The Sandpiper," starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, the audience laughed so loud during one love scene that the dejected producer promptly cut the scene out of the picture. At a sneak of "The Outrage" in San Francisco it was decided not to give names at the outset to test public response: nearly half the audience left before the picture was 20 minutes old. […] The worst sneak, it is told, occurred one night when nearly the entire audience marched out on "Paris When It Sizzles” leaving the producer and director alone and forlorn in the theater.

   • 2024 April 17, “TODAY IS NATIONAL CANADIAN FILM DAY! Here’s how we can celebrate our films and filmmakers….”, in Fordham PR‎^[3]:

     An exciting lineup of pre-release screenings, giving audiences nationwide a chance to see the top new offerings before their official release. Films include:[…]
     ▪ A sneak preview of the new Highball.TV film Mother of All Shows at the Stirling Festival Theatre in Stirling, ON, where the film was shot. With director Melissa D’Agostino.
     ▪ In Vancouver, a sneak of The Great Salish Heist, Darrell Dennis’ hilarious new no-budget Indigenous caper flick.

sneak (third-person singular simple present sneaks, present participle sneaking, simple past and past participle sneaked or snuck)

1. (intransitive) To creep or go stealthily; to come or go while trying to avoid detection, as a person who does not wish to be seen.

   Synonyms: skulk, steal, slink

   He decided to sneak into the kitchen for a second cookie while his mom was on the phone.

   • 1885 July 9, The Hamilton Spectator, page 4:

     Some of these were dressed most gorgeously, others becomingly, and several sneaked in with fantail bangers, calling themselves "Gentlemen of the Nineteenth Century."

2. (transitive) To take something stealthily without permission.

   I went to sneak a chocolate but my dad caught me.

3. (ditransitive) To stealthily bring someone something.

   She asked me to sneak her a phone next month.

4. (transitive, dated) To hide, especially in a mean or cowardly manner.
   • 1701, William Wake, A rationale upon some texts of Scripture:

     [Slander] sneaks its head.

5. (intransitive, informal, with on) To inform an authority of another's misdemeanours.

   Synonyms: grass, snitch, tell tales

   If you sneak on me I'll bash you!

• The past and past participle snuck is primarily found in North American English, where it originated in the late 19th century as a dialectal form. It is still regarded as informal by some, but its use appears to be increasing in frequency and acceptability. It is occasionally found in British, Irish and Australian English, too, though regarded as an American form. (See Oxford Dictionaries, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, Webster's New World College Dictionary.)
• Informally, snook is also often found as the past tense. It is considered nonstandard.
• To sneak (take) something is not the same as to steal something. In this sense, sneak typically implies trying to avoid a supervisor's or guardian's mild displeasure or mild discipline, while steal indicates a more serious action and often the person stealing does not know the owner of the item being stolen.

sneak (not comparable)

1. In advance; before release to the general public.

   The company gave us a sneak look at their new electronic devices.

2. In a stealthy or surreptitious manner.

   I was able to get a sneak peek at the guest list.

   • 1984, 8:38 from the start, in Dune‎^[4] (Science Fiction), →OCLC:

     I have ordered House Atreides to occupy Arrakis to mine the spice, thus replacing their enemies the Harkonnens. House Atreides will not refuse because of the tremendous power they think they will gain. Then, at an appointed time, Baron Harkonnen will return to Arrakis and launch a sneak attack on House Atreides. I have promised the Baron five legions of my Sardaukar terror troops.

• sneak attack
• sneak peek
• sneak preview

• kaens, akens, nakes, skean, Keans, snake, Kasen, kenas, Snake, asken, Skåne

Borrowed from English sneak.

sneak

1. inflection of sneaken:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative