sneak

sneak
I. verb (sneaked or snuck; sneaking) Etymology: akin to Old English snīcan to sneak along, Old Norse snīkja Date: 1594 intransitive verb 1. to go stealthily or furtively ; slink <
snuck out early
>
2. to act in or as if in a furtive manner 3. to carry the football on a quarterback sneak transitive verb to put, bring, or take in a furtive or artful manner <
sneak a smoke
>
Synonyms: see lurk Usage: From its earliest appearance in print in the late 19th century as a dialectal and probably uneducated form, the past and past participle snuck has risen to the status of standard and to approximate equality with sneaked. Indications are that it is continuing to grow in frequency. It is most common in the United States and Canada, but has also been spotted in British and Australian English. II. noun Date: circa 1643 1. a person who acts in a stealthy, furtive, or shifty manner 2. a. a stealthy or furtive move b. an unobserved departure or escape 3. sneaker 2 — usually used in plural 4. quarterback sneak III. adjective Date: circa 1859 1. carried on secretly ; clandestine 2. occurring without warning ; surprise <
a sneak attack
>

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • sneak — sneak; sneak·er; sneak·i·ly; sneak·i·ness; sneak·ish; sneak·ing·ly; sneak·ing·ness; sneak·ish·ly; sneak·ish·ness; …   English syllables

  • Sneak — may refer to:*DJ Sneak, Puerto Rican DJ *Keak Da Sneak, rapper from Oakland, California *The Sneaks, band from New Zealand *Quarterback sneak, a term in American football *Sneakbox, type of small boat *Sneak magazine, British weekly magazine *The …   Wikipedia

  • Sneak — steht für: Sneak Preview, eine Art Vorpremiere eines Kinofilms Sneak ist der Name folgender Personen: DJ Sneak (* 1970, bürgerlich Carlos Sosa), puerto ricanischer House DJ und Produzent Keak da Sneak (* 1977, bürgerlich Charles Toby Bowens), ein …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • sneak up on — [phrasal verb] sneak up on (someone) 1 : to approach (someone) quietly and secretly in order to avoid being noticed My father likes to sneak up on my mother and tickle her. Don t sneak up on me like that! 2 : to approach, happen, or develop… …   Useful english dictionary

  • sneak´i|ly — sneak|y «SNEE kee», adjective, sneak|i|er, sneak|i|est. cowardly, mean, or contemptible: »They dropped their eyes and looked sneaky (Mark Twain). –sneak´i|ly, adverb …   Useful english dictionary

  • sneak|y — «SNEE kee», adjective, sneak|i|er, sneak|i|est. cowardly, mean, or contemptible: »They dropped their eyes and looked sneaky (Mark Twain). –sneak´i|ly, adverb …   Useful english dictionary

  • sneak — [snēk] vi. ☆ sneaked or Informal snuck, sneaking [prob. < OE * snecan, akin to snican, to crawl: for IE base see SNAIL] 1. to move quietly and stealthily so as to avoid being seen or heard; go furtively 2. to be a sneak; behave in a stealthy,… …   English World dictionary

  • Sneak — (sn[=e]k), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Sneaked} (sn[=e]kt); p. pr. & vb. n. {Sneaking}.] [OE. sniken, AS. sn[=i]can to creep; akin to Dan. snige sig; cf. Icel. sn[=i]kja to hanker after.] 1. To creep or steal (away or about) privately; to come or go… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Sneak — Sneak, v. t. To hide, esp. in a mean or cowardly manner. [Obs.] [Slander] sneaks its head. Wake. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Sneak — Sneak, n. 1. A mean, sneaking fellow. [1913 Webster] A set of simpletons and superstitious sneaks. Glanvill. [1913 Webster] 2. (Cricket) A ball bowled so as to roll along the ground; called also {grub}. [Cant] R. A. Proctor. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • sneak — [n] person who is very dishonest cheater, con artist, coward, cur, dastard, heel*, informer, louse, rascal, reptile, scoundrel, skunk*, slink*, snake*, snake in grass*, toad*, weasel*, wretch; concept 412 sneak [v] move stealthily ambush, case,… …   New thesaurus

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