snoop
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
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an act or instance of snooping.
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a person who snoops.
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a private detective.
verb
noun
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a person who pries into the business of others
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an act or instance of snooping
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of snoop
1825–35, < Dutch snoepen to take and eat food on the sly
Explanation
When you snoop, you poke around in someone else's business. A teenager might snoop in her sister's room, looking for her diary. You snoop when you rustle through someone's garbage looking for love letters, and if you spy on your neighbor through the curtains, you also snoop. In fact, if you spend enough time doing this, you'll be called a snoop — a sneaky busybody. The earliest meaning of snoop, "to go around in a prying manner," comes from the Dutch word snoepen, "to pry."
Vocabulary lists containing snoop
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Shiloh
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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.
E2EE has been hailed by privacy experts as the best way to protect conversations from hackers, corporations and even repressive authorities trying to snoop on users.
From BBC • Mar. 3, 2026
Camryn Smith and her daughter showed up to snoop around for the deals at the Americana at Brand in Glendale early Friday morning.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 28, 2025
One member warned that state officials would snoop around their rural properties to tell owners what to do.
From Salon • Aug. 8, 2025
In other legal news: New Jersey just made it much harder for police to snoop on social media.
From Slate • Jul. 6, 2023
At some point, apparently as a lone volunteer without training, Lydia decided to snoop around.
From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
