sneak

1. 1.

   to go stealthily or furtively

   “..stead of sneaking around spying on the neighbor's house”

   Synonymsmousecreeppussyfoot

   Broaderwalk
2. 2.

   put, bring, or take in a secretive or furtive manner

   “sneak a look”

   “sneak a cigarette”

   Broaderact
3. 3.

   make off with belongings of others

   Synonymspilfercabbagepurloinpinchabstractsnarfswipehookfilchnobblelift

   Broadersteal
4. 4.

   pass on stealthily

   “He slipped me the key when nobody was looking”

   Synonymsslip

   Broaderpass

1. 1.

   a person who is regarded as underhanded and furtive and contemptible

   Broaderunpleasant person
2. 2.

   someone who prowls or sneaks about; usually with unlawful intentions

   Synonymsprowlerstalker

   Broaderintruder
3. 3.

   someone acting as an informer or decoy for the police

   Synonymsfinksnitchsnitcherstoolpigeonstool pigeonstooliesneakercanary

   Broaderinformer

1. 1.

   marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed

   “a furtive manner”

   “a sneak attack”

   “stealthy footsteps”

   “a surreptitious glance at his watch”

   Synonymsfurtivesneakystealthysurreptitious

   Similarconcealed

Other forms of sneak

plural

sneaks·

past tense or participle

snuck

present participle

sneaking·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about sneak

What does sneak mean?

sneak means "to go stealthily or furtively". That is the primary sense; the word has 8 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in sneak?

sneak has 1 syllable: sneak. In IPA it is /ˈsnik/.

What is another word for sneak?

Close synonyms include mouse, creep, pussyfoot, pilfer, cabbage. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is sneak a common word?

sneak is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.