sneaking

American

[snee-king] / ˈsni kɪŋ /

adjective

acting in a furtive or underhand way.
deceitfully underhand, as actions; contemptible.
secret; not generally avowed, as a feeling, notion, suspicion, etc.

sneaking British

/ ˈsniːkɪŋ /

adjective

acting in a furtive or cowardly way
secret

a sneaking desire to marry a millionaire
slight but nagging (esp in the phrase a sneaking suspicion )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of sneaking

First recorded in 1575–85; sneak + -ing ²

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

sneaking

Glen Crooks, 70, who used to perform at the Bamboo Club when he was younger, remembers "sneaking in" with his friends when they were young.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

AI agents are breaking through safeguards, sneaking into outside systems and hiding from monitoring.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Simon soon picks up a handheld CRT device to help with sneaking - a clever updated version of another staple of the Silent Hill series: the crackling radio.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

He also learned to avoid pickoffs by watching for the shadows of opponents sneaking up behind him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

“They said they saw someone in a Morpho mask sneaking through the Employees Only door, remember?”

From "A Monster of a Mystery (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #5)" by Franklin W. Dixon

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023