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sneak
(redirected from sneaked up on)

   Also found in: Legal, Idioms, Wikipedia 0.03 sec.
sneak  (snk)
v. sneaked also snuck (snk), sneak·ing, sneaks
v.intr.
1. To go or move in a quiet, stealthy way.
2. To behave in a cowardly or servile manner.
v.tr.
To move, give, take, or put in a quiet, stealthy manner: sneak candy into one's mouth; sneaked a look at the grade sheet.
n.
1. A person regarded as stealthy, cowardly, or underhanded.
2. An instance of sneaking; a quiet, stealthy movement.
3. Informal A sneaker.
adj.
1. Carried out in a clandestine manner: sneak preparations for war.
2. Perpetrated without warning: a sneak attack.

[Probably akin to Middle English sniken, to creep, from Old English sncan.]
Usage Note: Snuck is an Americanism first introduced in the 19th century as a nonstandard regional variant of sneaked. Widespread use of snuck has become more common with every generation. It is now used by educated speakers in all regions. Formal written English is more conservative than other varieties, of course, and here snuck still meets with much resistance. Many writers and editors have a lingering unease about the form, particularly if they recall its nonstandard origins. And 67 percent of the Usage Panel disapproved of snuck in our 1988 survey. Nevertheless, an examination of recent sources shows that snuck is sneaking up on sneaked. Snuck was almost 20 percent more common in newspaper articles published in 1995 than it was in 1985. Snuck also appears in the work of many respected columnists and authors: "He ran up huge hotel bills and then snuck out without paying" (George Stade). "He had snuck away from camp with a cabinmate" (Anne Tyler). "I ducked down behind the paperbacks and snuck out" (Garrison Keillor).

sneak [sniːk]
vb
1. (intr; often foll by along, off, in, etc.) to move furtively
2. (intr) to behave in a cowardly or underhand manner
3. (tr) to bring, take, or put stealthily
4. (intr) Informal chiefly Brit to tell tales (esp in schools)
5. (tr) Informal to steal
6. (intr; foll by off, out, away, etc.) Informal to leave unobtrusively
n
1. a person who acts in an underhand or cowardly manner, esp as an informer
2.
a.  a stealthy act or movement
b.  (as modifier) a sneak attack
3. Brit informal an unobtrusive departure
[Old English snīcan to creep; from Old Norse snīkja to hanker after]
sneaky  adj
sneakily  adv
sneakiness  n
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.sneak - a person who is regarded as underhanded and furtive and contemptible
disagreeable person, unpleasant person - a person who is not pleasant or agreeable
2.sneaksneak - someone who prowls or sneaks about; usually with unlawful intentions
interloper, intruder, trespasser - someone who intrudes on the privacy or property of another without permission
3.sneak - someone acting as an informer or decoy for the police
betrayer, blabber, informer, squealer, rat - one who reveals confidential information in return for money
Verb1.sneak - to go stealthily or furtively; "..stead of sneaking around spying on the neighbor's house"
walk - use one's feet to advance; advance by steps; "Walk, don't run!"; "We walked instead of driving"; "She walks with a slight limp"; "The patient cannot walk yet"; "Walk over to the cabinet"
slip away, sneak away, sneak off, sneak out, steal away - leave furtively and stealthily; "The lecture was boring and many students slipped out when the instructor turned towards the blackboard"
2.sneak - put, bring, or take in a secretive or furtive manner; "sneak a look"; "sneak a cigarette"
act, move - perform an action, or work out or perform (an action); "think before you act"; "We must move quickly"; "The governor should act on the new energy bill"; "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel"
3.sneak - make off with belongings of others
steal - take without the owner's consent; "Someone stole my wallet on the train"; "This author stole entire paragraphs from my dissertation"
4.sneak - pass on stealthily; "He slipped me the key when nobody was looking"
hand, pass on, turn over, pass, reach, give - place into the hands or custody of; "hand me the spoon, please"; "Turn the files over to me, please"; "He turned over the prisoner to his lawyers"
Adj.1.sneak - marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed; "a furtive manner"; "a sneak attack"; "stealthy footsteps"; "a surreptitious glance at his watch"
concealed - hidden on any grounds for any motive; "a concealed weapon"; "a concealed compartment in his briefcase"

sneak
verb
1. slink, slip, steal, creep, ghost, pad, tiptoe, sidle, skulk Don't sneak away and hide.
2. slip, smuggle, spirit He snuck me a cigarette.
3. snatch, steal, do something furtively or stealthily She sneaked a look at her watch.
noun
informer, grass (Brit. slang), betrayer, telltale, squealer (slang), Judas, accuser, stool pigeon, snake in the grass, nark (Brit., Austral., & N.Z. slang) He is disloyal, distrustful and a sneak.
adjective
secret, quick, clandestine, furtive, stealthy We can give you this exclusive sneak preview.
sneak up on something or someone creep up on, take by surprise, tiptoe up on I managed to sneak up on him.
Translations
sneak [sniːk]
A. VT to sneak sth out of a placesacar algo furtivamente de un lugar
I managed to sneak one inlogré meter uno sin ser visto
to sneak a look at sthmirar algo de reojo or soslayo
B. VI
1. to sneak aboutir a hurtadillas, moverse furtivamente
to sneak in/outentrar/salir a hurtadillas
to sneak away or offescabullirse
to sneak off with sthllevarse algo furtivamente
to sneak up on sbacercarse sigilosamente a algn
2. to sneak on sbdelatar a algn, dar el soplo sobre algn, chivarse de algn(Sp)
to sneak to the teacherir con el cuento or (Sp) chivarse al profesor
C. N (= tale-teller) → chivato/a m/f, soplón/ona m/f
D. CPD sneak preview N [of film] → preestreno m; (gen) → anticipo m no autorizado
sneak thief Nratero/a m/f
sneak visit Nvisita f furtiva

sneak [ˈsniːk]
vi
to sneak in → entrer furtivement
to sneak out → sortir furtivement
to sneak up on sb → s'approcher de qn sans faire de bruit
vt
to sneak a look at sth → regarder furtivement qch

sneak
nSchleicher(in) m(f); (dated Brit Sch inf) → Petzer m, → Petze f (Sch inf)
vt he sneaked a cake off the counterer klaute or stibitzte einen Kuchen vom Tresen (inf); to sneak something into a roometw in ein Zimmer schmuggeln; to sneak a look at somebody/somethingauf jdn/etw schielen
vi
to sneak aboutherumschleichen; to sneak away or offsich wegschleichen or -stehlen; to sneak insich einschleichen; to sneak past somebody(sich) an jdm vorbeischleichen; to sneak up on somebodysich an jdn heranschleichen
(dated Brit Sch inf: = tell tales) → petzen (inf); to sneak on somebodyjdn verpetzen (inf)

sneak [sniːk]
1. vt to sneak sth out of a placeportare fuori qc di nascosto da un luogo
to sneak a look at sth → dare una sbirciatina a qc
to sneak a quick cigarette → fumarsi una sigaretta di nascosto
2. vi
a. to sneak in/outentrare/uscire di nascosto or di soppiatto
to sneak away or off → allontanarsi di nascosto or di soppiatto, squagliarsela
to sneak off with sth → portare via di soppiatto qc
b. to sneak on sb (fam) → fare la spia a qn
3. n (fam) (telltale) → spione/a

sneak [sniːk]
1. vt to sneak sth out of a placeportare fuori qc di nascosto da un luogo
to sneak a look at sth → dare una sbirciatina a qc
to sneak a quick cigarette → fumarsi una sigaretta di nascosto
2. vi
a. to sneak in/outentrare/uscire di nascosto or di soppiatto
to sneak away or off → allontanarsi di nascosto or di soppiatto, squagliarsela
to sneak off with sth → portare via di soppiatto qc
b. to sneak on sb (fam) → fare la spia a qn
3. n (fam) (telltale) → spione/a

sneak
v sneak [sniːk]
1 to go quietly and secretly, especially for a dishonest purpose He must have sneaked into my room when no-one was looking and stolen the money. sluip إنْسَلَّ، تَسَلَّلَ промъквам (се) (v)plížit se snige sich schleichen κινούμαι στα κλεφτά, γλιστρώ moverse sigilosamente hiilima دزدكي رفت و آمد كردن livahtaa se faufiler furtivement לְהִתגַנֵב आंख बचाकर आना-जाना šuljati se settenkedik menyelinap læðast strisciare, andare furtivamente こそこそする 남몰래 들어오다(나가다) įsėlinti []lavīties menyelinap sluipen snike, liste seg, luske dostawać się chyłkiem, zakradać się esgueirar-se a se furişa прокрадываться vkradnúť sa vtihotapiti se ušunjati se smyga ทำลับ ๆ ล่อ ๆ sinsice sokulmak 潛行 підкрадатися خفیہ طریقے سے، بری نیت سے جانا trốn, lén
2 to take secretly He sneaked the letter out of her drawer. skelm uithaal إخْتَلَسَ، نَشَلَ، سَرَقَ отмъквам tajně vzít liste heimlich nehmen παίρνω κρυφά, σουφρώνω sacar a escondidas näppama يواشكي دزديدن kähveltää prendre furtivement לְהַגְנִיב चुपके से ले लेना ukrasti što, zdipiti elcsen mengambil diam-diam hnupla impossessarsi 盗む 몰래 가지다 nušvilpti nočiept mengambil senyap-senyap gappen nappe, rappe wykradać retirar a sustrage взять незаметно tajne vziať zmakniti krišom uzeti smyga, smussla แอบพาไป gizlice almak поцупити, украсти خاموشی سے چرا لینا ăn trộm, xoáy, lén
n
a mean, deceitful person, especially a telltale. verklikker خائِن، وَغْد подлец donašeč sladrehank die Petze μαρτυριάρης, δόλιος acusica, acusón, chivato, soplón pealekaebaja, pugeja خبرچين liero rapporteur/-euse נוֹכֵל מוּג-לֵב तुच्छ व्यक्ति podlac, tužibaba spicli pengadu læðupoki; kjaftaskjóða spia こそこそする人 비열한 사람, 특히 고자질 하는 사람 sukčius līdējs; sūdzībnieks penipu gluiperd, klikspaan sladrehank donosiciel, kanalia pessoa vil raportor ябеда, доносчик donášač ovaduh tužibaba skvallerbytta คนไม่น่าไว้ใจ fitneci kimse 鬼鬼祟祟的人 ябедник, фіскал چغل خور، دھوکے باز đứa hớt lẻo
n pl sneakers
soft shoes with soles made of rubber, rope etc He was wearing blue jeans and sneakers. seilskoene حِذاء ناعِم من المَطّاط гуменки tenisky gummisko; kondisko leichte Segeltuchschuhe (pl.) αθλητικά παπούτσια zapatillas tennised, tossud كفش كتاني kumitossut (chaussures de) tennis נַעַל הִתעַמלוּת रबड़ के तले वाला मुलायम जूता tenisice edzőcipő sepatu karet íþróttaskór, strigaskór scarpe da ginnastica スニーカー 고무창 운동화 sportiniai bateliai teniskurpes kasut snikers tennisschoenen jogge-/tøysko tenisówki sapatilhas pantofi de tenis теннисные тапочки tenisky teniški čevlji patike gymnastikskor รองเท้าผ้าใบส้นยาง keten ayakkabı 軟底鞋 кеди; тенісні туфлі نرم تلے کا کرمچ وغیرہ کا جوتا giầy để chơi quần vợt
adj sneaking
(of a feeling) slight but not easy to suppress She knew he was wicked but she had a sneaking admiration for his courage. heimlik خَفي، سِرّي скрит nepřiznaný lumsk heimlich ανομολόγητος secreto sala-, salajane يواشكي salainen inavoué לא גָלוּי उपहासजनक लेकिन अदम्य भावना potajan, nepriznat be nem vallott sedikit dulinn segreto ひそかな (느낌의) 은근한 slaptas, paslėptas slepens; kluss sedikit heimelijk snikende, lumsk, hemmelig podświadomy secreto tainic, nemărturisit тайный, скрытый tichý skriven potajan outtalad, smygande ที่ซ่อนเร้น içten içe, gizli 暗藏心中的 таємний, потайний خفیہ، چھپا ڈھکا vụng trộm, thầm kín
adj sneaky
It was a bit sneaky of him to tell the teacher about me. onderduims ماكِر، مُخادِع подъл potměšilý lusket heimtückisch ύπουλος, κρυφός mezquino alatu آب زير كاه luihu sournois כָּרוּך בְּמִרמָה उपहासजनक podao, gadan alattomos licik lymskulegur; ómerkilegur meschino, vile 卑劣な 비열한 pasalūniškas nekrietni licik achterbaks sladderaktig, stygt gjort chytry, podstępny mesquinho viclean подлый potmehúdsky zahrbten podao skvallrig ซึ่งลับ ๆ ล่อ ๆ sinsi, hilekâr 鬼鬼祟祟的 боягузливий; підлий چپکے چپکے کارروائی کرنے والا lén lút, giấu giếm
n sneakiness
onderduimsheid مَكْر، خِداع подлост potměšilost luskethed die Heimtücke υπουλότητα mezquindad alatus آب زير كاهي luihuus sournoiserie חַמקָנוּת धोखेबाजी podlost, potajnost alattomosság kelicikan lymska meschineria こそこそすること 비열함, 천함 slaptumas, veikimas iš pasalų slepenība; nekrietnība kelicikan achterbaksheid listighet podłość, podstępność mesquinhez viclenie подлость potmehúdstvo zahrbtnost podlost smygande karaktär การหลบซ่อน sinsilik 鬼祟 потайливість گھنّاپن sự lén lút, sự giấu giếm


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