sneaks

8 definitions • 15 examples

to go somewhere secretly, or to take someone or something somewhere secretly:

sneak in I managed to sneak in through the back door while she wasn't looking.

sneak someone in Jan doesn't have a ticket but I thought we might sneak her in.

sneak up on I thought I'd sneak up on him (= move close to him without him seeing) and give him a surprise.

to secretly tell someone in authority, especially a teacher, that someone else has done something bad, often in order to cause trouble:

sneak on She was always sneaking on other kids in the class.

to look at someone or something quickly and secretly:

I noticed him sneak a look at what I was writing.

a person who tells people in authority when someone else does something bad:

You told Mrs Cooper that it was me who tipped the paint over, didn't you - you nasty little sneak!

a type of light, comfortable shoe that is suitable for playing sports in:

I like to wear plain white leather sneaks.

an old pair of sneaks

in American football, a play (= period of action) in which the quarterback dives or runs a short distance forward with the ball while the offensive line tries to push the defensive linemen back from the line of scrimmage (= the line on which the ball is positioned at the beginning of a period of action):

They ran a sneak and picked up three yards for a first down.

done secretly:

The unit launched a sneak attack under cover of night.

An investigation was launched into how the paparazzi were able to get sneak photographs of the princess.

to go or do something secretly, or take someone or something somewhere secretly:

[ I always + adv/prep ] He sneaked out of the house, going out through the back way.

[ T ] I sneaked a look at my watch.

[ T ] Make sure you sneak a little bit of protein into your snacks.

[ I always + adv/prep ] He snuck out of the budget meeting and went back to the lab.