stealth

American  

[stelth] / stɛlθ /

noun

1. secret, clandestine, or surreptitious procedure.

2. a furtive departure or entrance.

3. Obsolete.

   1. an act of stealing; theft.

   2. the thing stolen; booty.

4. Military.  Stealth, a U.S. Air Force project involving a range of technologies, with the purpose of developing aircraft that are difficult to detect by sight, sound, radar, and infrared energy.

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adjective

1. not openly acknowledged; surreptitious; secret.

   They used underhand methods such as the stealth hiring of a competitor's CEO.

   Spending cuts are the stealth issue of this presidential race.

2. (of a transgender person) living as a cisgender member of one's identified gender, without revealing that one is transgender.

   For some transgender people, being stealth may be the safest option.

stealth ¹ British  

/ stɛlθ /

noun

1. the act or characteristic of moving with extreme care and quietness, esp so as to avoid detection

   the stealth of a cat

2. cunning or underhand procedure or dealing

3. archaic  the act of stealing

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Stealth ² British  

/ stɛlθ /

noun

1. informal  (modifier) denoting or referring to technology that aims to reduce the radar, thermal, and acoustic recognizability of aircraft and missiles

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Usage

What does stealth mean? Stealth is a specific way of acting or moving that is intended to be secret or of avoiding detection, as in The cat used its stealth to sneak up on the unsuspecting mouse. Stealth is also used to describe something that is secret or is trying to avoid detection, as in The thieves organized a stealth meeting, away from the watchful eyes of the detectives.The adjectives stealthful and stealthy are used to describe something that uses stealth, as in The stealthy fox managed to avoid getting caught by the farmer’s dogs. Stealthily and stealthfully are used to describe something done with stealth, as in Santa Claus stealthily slipped the Christmas presents into the stockings to avoid waking the children.  Example: The spy used cunning and stealth to sneak into the embassy and smuggle out the documents. 

Other Word Forms

• stealthful adjective
• stealthfully adverb
• stealthless adjective

Etymology

Origin of stealth

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English stelthe, stelth; compare Old English stælthing “theft”; steal, -th ¹

Example Sentences

This is often dubbed a stealth tax because, unlike raising the headline rates, it is not obvious on your payslip.

From BBC

Reform has also set out plans to cap overseas aid spending at £1bn a year, a new limit that would be written into law to prevent "stealth increases".

From BBC

The pair are expected to sign defense and nuclear deals that will see US F-35 stealth fighters sold to Saudi Arabia.

From Barron's

The stealth of nuclear submarines would keep North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "awake at night", he added.

From BBC

But Caracas fears the US military deployment, which also includes F-35 stealth warplanes sent to Puerto Rico and US Navy ships in the Caribbean, is a regime change plot in disguise.

From Barron's