sneak
[ sneek ]
/ snik /
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verb (used without object), sneaked or snuck, sneak·ing.
verb (used with object), sneaked or snuck, sneak·ing.
to move, put, pass, etc., in a stealthy or furtive manner: He sneaked the gun into his pocket.
to do, take, or enjoy hurriedly or surreptitiously: to sneak a cigarette.
noun
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Origin of sneak
1590–1600; variant of Middle English sniken,Old English snīcan “to creep”; cognate with Old Norse snīkja “to hanker after”
synonym study for sneak
1. See lurk.
usage note for sneak
First recorded in writing toward the end of the 19th century in the United States, snuck has become in recent decades a standard variant past tense and past participle of the verb sneak : Bored by the lecture, he snuck out the side door. Snuck occurs frequently in fiction and in journalistic writing as well as on radio and television: In the darkness the sloop had snuck around the headland, out of firing range. It is not so common in highly formal or belletristic writing, where sneaked is more likely to occur. Snuck is the only spoken past tense and past participle for many younger and middle-aged persons of all educational levels in the U. S. and Canada. Snuck has occasionally been considered nonstandard, but it is so widely used by professional writers and educated speakers that it can no longer be so regarded.
Words nearby sneak
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
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British Dictionary definitions for sneak
sneak
/ (sniːk) /
verb
noun
Derived forms of sneak
sneaky, adjectivesneakily, adverbsneakiness, nounWord Origin for sneak
Old English snīcan to creep; from Old Norse snīkja to hanker after
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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