I. sneak 1 /sniːk/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle sneaked or snuck /snʌk/ American English )
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: Perhaps from Old English snican 'to creep' ]
1 . GO SECRETLY [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to go somewhere secretly and quietly in order to avoid being seen or heard SYN creep
sneak in/out/away etc
They sneaked off without paying!
She snuck out of the house once her parents were asleep.
2 . TAKE/GIVE SECRETLY [transitive] to hide something and take it somewhere or give it to someone secretly:
I snuck her a note.
sneak something through/past etc somebody/something
Douglas had sneaked his camera into the show.
3 . sneak a look/glance/peek to look at something quickly and secretly, especially something that you are not supposed to see:
He sneaked a look at her.
4 . STEAL [transitive] informal to quickly and secretly steal something unimportant or of little value
sneak something from somebody
We used to sneak cigarettes from Dad.
sneak on somebody phrasal verb British English old-fashioned informal
to tell someone such as a parent or teacher about something that another person has done wrong, because you want to cause trouble for that person:
A little brat named Oliver sneaked on me.
sneak up phrasal verb
to come near someone very quietly, so that they do not see you until you reach them
sneak up on/behind etc
I wish you wouldn’t sneak up on me like that!
• • •
THESAURUS
■ to walk quietly
▪ tiptoe to walk quietly and carefully on your toes because you do not want to make a noise:
I tiptoed out trying not to wake the baby.
▪ creep to walk quietly and slowly because you do not want anyone to see or hear you:
Stella crept up the stairs, hoping not to wake her parents.
▪ sneak to walk quietly so that no-one notices you, especially because you are doing something you should not do:
They sneaked off without paying.
|
I quickly sneaked out to have a cigarette.
▪ pad to walk quietly without wearing shoes – also used about cats and dogs walking quietly:
Michelle got up and padded barefoot down to the kitchen.
|
The cat padded in, asking for her food.
II. sneak 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . British English informal a child who other children dislike, because they tell adults about bad things that the other children have done:
You little sneak!
2 . American English informal someone who is not liked because they do things secretly and cannot be trusted
III. sneak 3 BrE AmE adjective [only before noun]
doing things very secretly and quickly, so that people do not notice you or cannot stop you:
a sneak attack
a sneak thief