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
: to put, bring, or take in a furtive or artful manner
sneak a smoke
Sneaked vs. Snuck: Usage Guide
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. It is most common in the U.S. and Canada but has also been spotted in British and Australian English.
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 sense 2
—usually used in plural
1
: carried on secretly : clandestine
2
: occurring without warning : surprise
a sneak attack
Synonyms
Verb
Noun
Adjective
Examples of sneak in a Sentence
Verb
They tried to sneak into the movie without paying.
She sneaked some cigars through customs.
He snuck a few cookies out of the jar while his mother wasn't looking.
They caught him trying to sneak food into the theater.
Can I sneak a peek at your quiz answers?
Noun
What a rotten sneak! I should have known not to trust her.
He ran a sneak up the middle for a touchdown.
Adjective
a sneak attack on the nation's capitol
Recent Examples on the Web
Anthony Mason, CBS News, 28 Apr. 2024
The majority came from Thursday night shows, but there was also a special Imax sneak earlier this week.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Apr. 2024
His mother, like lots of other Americans, had a sneaking admiration for John Dillinger, the bank robber.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 24 Apr. 2024
In the film, which starts out in 1993 in Ohio, Maureen’s 6-year-old daughter Amina is snuck out of the country by her ex-husband, Karim.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 24 Apr. 2024
On April 22, the reptile snuck onto a tarmac at the MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa and was caught on camera snoozing by the wheels of an airplane, photos shared by the base on Facebook show.
—Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 23 Apr. 2024
The lone damage against Winn over six innings came on a sinker down and away that Bryan De La Cruz snuck over the right field wall for a solo shot in his final frame.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2024
The next day during class, Leo sneaked a look, and a family had donated $10,000.
—Joe Sexton, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Now both are back at it -- the Heat once more a low seed again relegated to the play-in round, the Panthers this time a high seed sneaking up on no one.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2024
Saba Hamedy, NBC News, 19 Apr. 2024
Rebecca Ferguson’s pregnant Lady Jessica and Chalamet’s Paul are strangers in a strange land: the sole survivors of House Atreides, their family and army recently murdered in a sneak attack on Arrakis, the arid, unforgiving desert world where precious spice is mined.
—Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2024
Here’s a sneak peak of the @irishguards rehearsing for their annual parade.
—Becca Longmire, Peoplemag, 21 Mar. 2024
According to an excerpt from the book, Musk secretly ordered his engineers to turn off his company’s Starlink satellite communications network near the Crimean coast last year to disrupt a Ukrainian sneak attack on the Russian naval fleet.
—Maria Kostenko and Simon Cullen, CNN, 11 Feb. 2024
Other than kicks, the cameras on the uprights can provide unique end zone angles, including on sneaks near the goal line or an aerial view near the pylon.
—Joe Reedy, USA TODAY, 10 Feb. 2024
Crustaceans could be the sneak play that gets people talking at your party.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2024
Reps for the services did not immediately have comment, but such sneak uploads are common and challenging for streaming services to police due to the millions of tracks being uploaded to the platforms every day — multiple sources cite as many as 125,000, and probably more.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 29 Jan. 2024
Facing a fourth and 1 at the 49ers 14-yard line, Jordan Love's QB sneak was called short.
—Christopher Kuhagen, Journal Sentinel, 20 Jan. 2024
Mehera Bonner, Marie Claire, 15 Mar. 2017
Verb
The president-elect had to sneak into the nation's capital in disguise for his inauguration.
—Anthony Mason, CBS News, 28 Apr. 2024
The majority came from Thursday night shows, but there was also a special Imax sneak earlier this week.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Apr. 2024
His mother, like lots of other Americans, had a sneaking admiration for John Dillinger, the bank robber.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 24 Apr. 2024
In the film, which starts out in 1993 in Ohio, Maureen’s 6-year-old daughter Amina is snuck out of the country by her ex-husband, Karim.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 24 Apr. 2024
On April 22, the reptile snuck onto a tarmac at the MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa and was caught on camera snoozing by the wheels of an airplane, photos shared by the base on Facebook show.
—Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 23 Apr. 2024
The lone damage against Winn over six innings came on a sinker down and away that Bryan De La Cruz snuck over the right field wall for a solo shot in his final frame.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2024
The next day during class, Leo sneaked a look, and a family had donated $10,000.
—Joe Sexton, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Now both are back at it -- the Heat once more a low seed again relegated to the play-in round, the Panthers this time a high seed sneaking up on no one.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2024
Noun
The black-and-white teaser gave a sneak peak of the visuals for the music video.
—Saba Hamedy, NBC News, 19 Apr. 2024
Rebecca Ferguson’s pregnant Lady Jessica and Chalamet’s Paul are strangers in a strange land: the sole survivors of House Atreides, their family and army recently murdered in a sneak attack on Arrakis, the arid, unforgiving desert world where precious spice is mined.
—Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2024
Here’s a sneak peak of the @irishguards rehearsing for their annual parade.
—Becca Longmire, Peoplemag, 21 Mar. 2024
According to an excerpt from the book, Musk secretly ordered his engineers to turn off his company’s Starlink satellite communications network near the Crimean coast last year to disrupt a Ukrainian sneak attack on the Russian naval fleet.
—Maria Kostenko and Simon Cullen, CNN, 11 Feb. 2024
Other than kicks, the cameras on the uprights can provide unique end zone angles, including on sneaks near the goal line or an aerial view near the pylon.
—Joe Reedy, USA TODAY, 10 Feb. 2024
Crustaceans could be the sneak play that gets people talking at your party.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2024
Reps for the services did not immediately have comment, but such sneak uploads are common and challenging for streaming services to police due to the millions of tracks being uploaded to the platforms every day — multiple sources cite as many as 125,000, and probably more.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 29 Jan. 2024
Facing a fourth and 1 at the 49ers 14-yard line, Jordan Love's QB sneak was called short.
—Christopher Kuhagen, Journal Sentinel, 20 Jan. 2024
Adjective
Get Ready: Katy Perry Has Released a Sneak Peek of Her New Song
And the internet has receipts.
—Mehera Bonner, Marie Claire, 15 Mar. 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sneak.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to sneak
Video
Sneaked vs. Snuck
How the irregular 'snuck' sneaked into the dictionary
Dictionary Entries Near sneak
Cite this Entry
“Sneak.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sneak. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sneak
2 of 3 noun1
: a person who acts in a secret or sly manner
2
: the act or an instance of sneaking
sneak
3 of 3 adjective1
: carried on secretly : clandestine
2
: occurring without warning
a sneak attack
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