Meaning & use
sneak
Last updated
Meanings
verbintransitive
To move quietly and secretly so that nobody notices you.
Grammar: No object; usually followed by a direction word: sneak out, sneak in.
Patterns
- sneak into somewhere
- sneak out of somewhere
- sneak up on someone
He sneaked out of the house after midnight.
The cat sneaked up on the bird.
We sneaked past the sleeping guard.
verbtransitiveinformal
To take, bring, or do something secretly.
Grammar: Takes an object: she sneaked a cookie.
Patterns
- sneak something into somewhere
- sneak a look at something
She sneaked a cookie from the jar.
He sneaked a glance at his friend's answers.
They sneaked snacks into the cinema.
nouncountableinformaldisapproving
A person who behaves in a secret or sly way, sometimes one who tells on others.
Grammar: Countable; mostly used by children.
Patterns
- a sneak
Don't be such a sneak and tell the teacher.
The little sneak read my diary.
adjectivebefore a noun
Done secretly, without warning, or ahead of time.
Grammar: Always before a noun: a sneak preview.
Patterns
- sneak preview
- sneak attack
The critics saw a sneak preview of the movie.
The army launched a sneak attack at dawn.
Word forms
| third person singular | sneaks |
|---|---|
| past tense | sneaked |
| past participle | sneaked |
| -ing form | sneaking |
Common combinations
- sneak out
- Teenagers sometimes sneak out at night.
- sneak up on
- He tried to sneak up on his sister.
- sneak a peek
- I sneaked a peek at my present.
- sneak preview
- Fans got a sneak preview of the new album.
- sneak past
- The children sneaked past the kitchen.
Synonyms and how they differ
- creep
- Creep suggests moving low and slowly, often in a frightening way, while sneak stresses secrecy.
- slip
- Slip suggests a smooth, quick move without being seen, but not always with a bad purpose.
- tiptoe
- Tiptoe describes walking quietly on your toes, and sneak describes any quiet secretive movement.
- steal
- Steal means to take something unlawfully, but sneak can describe harmless secret actions.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: sneak or snake?
sneak vs snake
A snake is a reptile. To sneak is to move secretly, and both words have similar sounds.
Practice
Which sentence uses sneak as an adjective?
Choose one answer.
In sneak preview, sneak comes before a noun and describes it. In the other sentences it is a verb or a noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sneak”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.