different between sneaky vs sneak

English

Etymology

From sneak +? -y.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?sni?ki/
• Rhymes: -i?ki

Adjective

sneaky (comparative sneakier, superlative sneakiest)

1. Difficult to catch due to constantly outwitting the adversaries

   Catching those thieves will be hard: they're so sneaky!

2. Dishonest; deceitful.

   They played a sneaky trick on us.

Synonyms

• slippery
• evasive, dodgy

Derived terms

• sneaky suspicion

Related terms

• sneak

Translations

Further reading

• sneaky in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• sneaky in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Noun

sneaky (plural sneakies)

1. (espionage, slang) Any device used for covert surveillance.
   • 1974, Miles Copeland, Without cloak or dagger: the truth about the new espionage (page 244)

     […] in cooperation with the National Security Agency, installs and maintains "sneakies" throughout the U.S.S.R. and Communist China — but increasingly, denied areas are surveyed more simply.

   • 1991, Chapman Pincher, The Truth about Dirty Tricks

     […] has used travellers to plant 'sneakies' - small electronic transmitting devices which form part of a surveillance network.

Anagrams

• Kaysen, Sankey, Yankes, snakey

English

Etymology

Possibly from Middle English sniken (“to creep, crawl”), from Old English sn?can (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-West Germanic *sn?kan, from Proto-Germanic *sn?kan? (“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”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sni?k/
• Rhymes: -i?k

Noun

sneak (plural sneaks)

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

2. The act of sneaking
3. A cheat; a con artist.

   Synonyms: con artist, trickster; see also Thesaurus:confidence trickster, Thesaurus:deceiver

4. An informer; a tell-tale.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:informant

5. (obsolete, cricket) A ball bowled so as to roll along the ground; a daisy-cutter
6. (US) A sneaker; a tennis shoe.
   • 2014, Faye McKnight, Goodnight, Bob (page 9)

     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. (American football) A play where the quarterback receives the snap and immediately dives forward.

Translations

Verb

sneak (third-person singular simple present sneaks, present participle sneaking, simple past and past participle sneaked or 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.

   Synonym: skulk

2. (transitive) To take something stealthily without permission.

3. (ditransitive) To stealthily bring someone something.

4. (transitive, dated) To hide, especially in a mean or cowardly manner.
   • 1701, William Wake, A rationale upon some texts of Scripture

     [Slander] sneaks its head.

5. (intransitive, informal, with on) To inform an authority of another's misdemeanours.

   Synonyms: grass, snitch, tell tales

Usage notes

• The past and past participle snuck is primarily found in North American English, where it originated in the late 19th century as a dialectal form. It is still regarded as informal by some, but its use appears to be increasing in frequency and acceptability. It is occasionally found in British and Australian/Hiberno-English, too, though regarded as an American form. (See Oxford Dictionaries, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, Webster's New World College Dictionary.)
• Informally, snook is also often found as the past tense. It is considered nonstandard.
• To sneak (take) something is not the same as to steal something. In this sense, sneak typically implies trying to avoid a supervisor's or guardian's mild displeasure or mild discipline, while steal indicates a more serious action and often the person stealing does not know the owner of the item being stolen.

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

sneak (not comparable)

1. In advance; before release to the general public.

2. In a stealthy or surreptitious manner.

Derived terms

• sneak attack
• sneak peek
• sneak preview

Anagrams

• Kasen, Keans, Snake, akens, asken, kaens, kenas, nakes, skean, snake

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English sneak

Verb

sneak

1. first-person singular present indicative of sneaken
2. imperative of sneaken