sneak
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /sniːk/
rhymes: -iːk
Forms: form: sneaks
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.
Senses: examples: text: My little brother is such a sneak; yesterday I caught him trying to look through my diary.
glosses: One who sneaks; one who moves stealthily to acquire an item or information.
glosses: The act of sneaking
examples: text: I can't believe I gave that sneak $50 for a ticket when they were selling for $20 at the front gate.
synonyms: word: con artist
word: trickster
word: bristler
word: bunco artist
word: bunco-steerer
word: chiseler
word: con artist
word: confidence artist
word: confidence trickster
word: conman
word: flimflammer
word: grifter
word: lugger
word: magsman
word: mountebank
word: saltimbanco
word: sharpster
word: sharker
word: shark-gull
word: slicker
word: smooth operator
word: spiv
word: bamboozler
word: bouncer
word: bullshitter
word: cheat
word: cheater
word: cogger
word: cony-catcher
word: crammer
word: deceiver
word: deceptor
word: fabricator
word: fabulist
word: falser
word: gabber
word: grifter
word: guiler
word: liar
word: losenger
word: mocker
word: pseudologist
word: rook
word: Scandaroon
word: shammer
word: Spanish athlete
word: swindler
word: swike
word: treacher
word: trickster
word: trucker
word: wernard
glosses: A cheat; a con artist.
synonyms: word: abaddon
word: accuser
word: beefer
word: bewrayer
word: bigmouth
word: blabber
word: blabtale
word: blabtongue
word: canary
word: CI
word: finger
word: fink
word: fizgig
word: gossip
word: grass
word: informant
word: informer
word: jurat
word: leak
word: mole
word: narc
word: nark
word: nonce
word: outer
word: peacher
word: quisling
word: rat
word: ratfink
word: rooster
word: sneak
word: snitch
word: snout
word: squealer
word: state's evidence
word: stooge
word: stool pigeon
word: stoolie
word: supergrass
word: sycophant
word: tattler
word: tattletale
word: telltale tit
word: telltale
word: tout
word: whistleblower
glosses: An informer; a tell-tale.
topics: ball-games
cricket
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A ball bowled so as to roll along the ground; a daisy-cutter
examples: text: 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.
ref: 2014, Faye McKnight, Goodnight, Bob, page 9:
glosses: A sneaker; a tennis shoe.
topics: American-football
ball-games
football
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A play where the quarterback receives the snap and immediately dives forward.
examples: text: 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.
ref: 1965 December 26, Peter Barthollywood, “On the Cuff in Darkest Bel-Air”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 Jul 2025, section X, page 9:
text: An exciting lineup of pre-release screenings, giving audiences nationwide a chance to see the top new offerings before their official release. Films include:[…]
▪ A sneak preview of the new Highball.TV film Mother of All Shows at the Stirling Festival Theatre in Stirling, ON, where the film was shot. With director Melissa D’Agostino.
▪ In Vancouver, a sneak of The Great Salish Heist, Darrell Dennis’ hilarious new no-budget Indigenous caper flick.
ref: 2024 April 17, “TODAY IS NATIONAL CANADIAN FILM DAY! Here’s how we can celebrate our films and filmmakers….”, in Fordham PR:
qualifier: movie theaters
glosses: Ellipsis of sneak preview
Derived terms: area sneak
sneak-cup
sneak current
sneak paddle