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
-
a person who pries into the business of others
-
an act or instance of snooping
Other Word Forms
- snooper noun
- snoopy adjective
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.
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
"I'd probably go up to them and say, 'Have you heard about the ban?' I'd rather be up front than snoop on a neighbour."
From BBC • Jul. 22, 2025
Three were related to his security arrangements and three have been against tabloid publishers for allegedly hacking phones and using private investigators to snoop on his life for news stories.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 28, 2024
I know I shouldn’t snoop, but curiosity quickly overrides my conscience as it often does—snoop-control issues—and I’m bending down and randomly perusing some of the papers on the floor: mostly old letters.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
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.
