sneak

noun sneaks

1. 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.
2. The act of sneaking
3. 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.

   Similar: con artist, trickster, bristler, bunco artist, bunco-steerer, chiseler, confidence artist, confidence trickster, conman, flimflammer, grifter, lugger

4. An informer; a tell-tale.

   Similar: abaddon, accuser, beefer, bewrayer, bigmouth, blabber, blabtale, blabtongue, canary, CI, finger, fink

5. obsolete A ball bowled so as to roll along the ground; a daisy-cutter
6. US 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.
7. A play where the quarterback receives the snap and immediately dives forward.
8. abbreviation, ellipsis 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
9. derogatory, slang An unworthy or deceptive entry in a list of high-ranking people or things.

verb sneaks · sneaking · sneaked · snuck

1. intransitive 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.

   Similar: skulk, steal, slink

2. transitive To take (something) in a surreptitious manner, so as to avoid being noticed. Near-synonyms: pilfer, filch

   Similar: pilfer, filch

3. ditransitive To stealthily bring someone something. She asked me to sneak her a phone next month.
4. dated, transitive To hide, especially in a mean or cowardly manner. [Slander] sneaks its head.
5. informal, intransitive, with on To inform an authority of another's misdemeanours. If you sneak on me I'll bash you!

   Similar: grass, snitch, tell tales

Similar: creep, hake, scunge, sneak, shug, skulk, slink, slive, steal, tiptoe

adjective

1. not comparable In advance; before release to the general public. The company gave us a sneak look at their new electronic devices.
2. not comparable In a stealthy or surreptitious manner. I was able to get a sneak peek at the guest list.