sneak

[[t]snik[/t]]

v. sneaked or snuck, sneak•ing, n. adj.

1) to go in a stealthy or furtive manner; slink; skulk

2) to act in a furtive or underhand way

3) to move, put, pass, etc., in a stealthy or furtive manner:

He sneaked the gun into his pocket[/ex]

4) cvb to do, take, or have hurriedly or surreptitiously:

to sneak a cigarette[/ex]

5) a sneaking, underhand, or contemptible person

6) inf a stealthy or furtive departure

7) cvb

sneaker 1)

8) stealthy; surreptitious:

a sneak raid[/ex]

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Etymology: 1590–1600; obscurely akin to ME sniken, OE snīcan to creep, c. ON snīkja to hanker after syn: See lurk usage: First recorded in writing near the end of the 19th century in the U.S., snuck has become in recent decades a standard variant past tense and past participle: Bored by the lecture, we snuck out the side door. snuck occurs frequently in fiction, in journalism, and on radio and television, whereas sneaked is more likely in highly formal or belletristic writing. snuck is the only spoken past tense and past participle for many younger and middle-aged persons of all educational levels in the U.S. and Canada. It has occasionally been considered nonstandard but is so widely used by professional writers and educated speakers that it can no longer be so regarded.