sneak

[ sneek ]
/ snik /

verb (used without object), sneaked or snuck, sneak·ing.

verb (used with object), sneaked or snuck, sneak·ing.

to move, put, pass, etc., in a stealthy or furtive manner: He sneaked the gun into his pocket.
to do, take, or enjoy hurriedly or surreptitiously: to sneak a cigarette.

noun

Origin of sneak

1590–1600; variant of Middle English sniken, Old English snīcan to creep; cognate with Old Norse snīkja to hanker after

SYNONYMS FOR sneak

1 steal. See lurk.

usage note for sneak

First recorded in writing toward the end of the 19th century in the United States, snuck has become in recent decades a standard variant past tense and past participle of the verb sneak : Bored by the lecture, he snuck out the side door. Snuck occurs frequently in fiction and in journalistic writing as well as on radio and television: In the darkness the sloop had snuck around the headland, out of firing range. It is not so common in highly formal or belletristic writing, where sneaked is more likely to occur. Snuck is the only spoken past tense and past participle for many younger and middle-aged persons of all educational levels in the U. S. and Canada. Snuck has occasionally been considered nonstandard, but it is so widely used by professional writers and educated speakers that it can no longer be so regarded.

Example sentences from the Web for sneaked

British Dictionary definitions for sneaked

sneak
/ (sniːk) /

verb

noun

Derived forms of sneak

sneaky, adjective sneakily, adverb sneakiness, noun

Word Origin for sneak

Old English snīcan to creep; from Old Norse snīkja to hanker after