sneak
/sniːk/noun, verb, adjective
sneak is spelled S-N-E-A-K: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 9.8 times per million words in written English, the 7,224th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sneak means “One who sneaks; one who moves stealthily to acquire an item or information” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sneak is sneaks.
How many letters and syllables are in sneak?
| Letters | 5: S-N-E-A-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 9.8 times per million words; the 7,224th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is sneak?
Sneak appears 9.8 times per million words in written English, the 7,224th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sneak?
- /sniːk/
Sneak has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-sneak.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with sneak?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as sneak.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: snake.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of sneak
- sneaks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- sneaking participle, present
- sneaked participle, past
- snuck participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sneak mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 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.
- 4
An informer; a tell-tale.
- 5
obsoleteA ball bowled so as to roll along the ground; a daisy-cutter
- 6
USA sneaker; a tennis shoe.
- 7
A play where the quarterback receives the snap and immediately dives forward.
- 8
Ellipsis of sneak preview
verb
- 1
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.
- 2
To take (something) in a surreptitious manner, so as to avoid being noticed.
Near-synonyms: pilfer, filch
- 3
To stealthily bring someone something.
She asked me to sneak her a phone next month.
- 4
datedTo hide, especially in a mean or cowardly manner.
- 5
informalTo inform an authority of another's misdemeanours.
If you sneak on me I'll bash you!
adjective
- 1
In advance; before release to the general public.
The company gave us a sneak look at their new electronic devices.
- 2
In a stealthy or surreptitious manner.
I was able to get a sneak peek at the guest list.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sneak in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | resquilleur , faucher, piquer, resquiller , cacher, dissimuler |
| German | Duckmäuser, Duckmäuserin, Kriecher, Kriecherin, diebische Elster (poetisch), Schwindler |
| Portuguese | sonso, sonsa, vigarista , esgueirar , dissimular , afanar |
| Spanish | pillo , moverse con sigilo , esconder, escabullir , delatar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sneak come from?
Possibly from Middle English sniken (“to creep, crawl”), from Old English snīcan (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-West Germanic *snīkan, from Proto-Germanic *snīkaną (“to creep, crawl”), of sound-symbolic origin; compare formally unrelated snake, snoop, snook, snoke, and snoot. Cognate with Danish snige (“to sneak”), Swedish snika (“to sneak, hanker after”), Icelandic sníkja (“to sneak, hanker after”). Possibly related to snitch.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).