sneak

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to go stealthily or furtively

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

2. 2
   verb

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

   sneak a look

3. 3
   noun

   One who sneaks; one who moves stealthily to acquire an item or information.

   My little brother is such a sneak; yesterday I caught him trying to look through my diary.

4. 4
   noun

   A cheat; a con artist.

   I can't believe I gave that sneak $50 for a ticket when they were selling for $20 at the front gate.

5. 5
   noun

   A sneaker; a tennis shoe.

   We would have been laughed off the street in Philadelphia if we were seen wearing sneaks. In the big city, the young population wore loafers or boots.

6. 6
   noun

   Ellipsis of sneak preview

   At a "sneak preview," of course, the public is also on hand and can make their reactions felt much to the humiliation of the principals. At a sneak of "The Sandpiper," starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, the audience laughed so loud during one love scene that the dejected producer promptly cut the scene out of the picture. At a sneak of "The Outrage" in San Francisco it was decided not to give names at the outset to test public response: nearly half the audience left before the picture was 20 minutes old. […] The worst sneak, it is told, occurred one night when nearly the entire audience marched out on "Paris When It Sizzles” leaving the producer and director alone and forlorn in the theater.

7. 7
   verb

   To creep or go stealthily; to come or go while trying to avoid detection, as a person who does not wish to be seen.

   He decided to sneak into the kitchen for a second cookie while his mom was on the phone.

8. 8
   verb

   To take something stealthily without permission.

   I went to sneak a chocolate but my dad caught me.

Etymology

Possibly from Middle English sniken (“to creep, crawl”), from Old English snīcan (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-West Germanic *snīkan, from Proto-Germanic *snīkaną (“to creep, crawl”), which is related to the root of snake. Compare Danish snige (“to sneak”), Swedish snika (“to sneak, hanker after”), Icelandic sníkja (“to sneak, hanker after”). Possibly related to snitch.