sneak

verb

/sniːk/

The usual past form is sneaked, but snuck

/snʌk/

is now very common in informal speech in North American English, and some people use it in British English too. However, many people think that it is not correct and it should not be used in formal writing.

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they sneak	/sniːk/ /sniːk/
he / she / it sneaks	/sniːks/ /sniːks/
past simple sneaked	/sniːkt/ /sniːkt/
past participle sneaked	/sniːkt/ /sniːkt/
-ing form sneaking	/ˈsniːkɪŋ/ /ˈsniːkɪŋ/

Phrasal Verbs

[intransitive] + adv./prep. to go somewhere secretly, trying to avoid being seen偷偷地走；溜 synonym creep
- I sneaked up the stairs.我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
- Did you sneak into my room while I was asleep?你是趁我睡着的时候偷偷溜进我房间的吗？
- I caught him trying to sneak in without paying.他企图不付钱就溜进来，被我抓个正着。
- We sneaked out through the back door.我们从后门溜了出去。
[transitive] to do something or take somebody/something somewhere secretly, often without permission偷偷地做；偷带；偷拿
- sneak something We sneaked a look at her diary.我们偷偷看了一眼她的日记。
- If the gate is open, you can sneak a peek at the gardens.如果大门开着，你可以偷瞥一眼花园。
- At last we were able to sneak a moment alone together.我们终于能够偷偷地在一起度过一段时光了。
- sneak something to somebody I managed to sneak a note to him.我设法偷偷给他递了张条子。
- sneak somebody something I managed to sneak him a note.我设法偷偷给他递了张条子。
[transitive] sneak something (informal) to secretly take something that is small or unimportant偷走，顺走（不重要的或小的东西） synonym pinch
- I sneaked a cake when they were out of the room.趁他们不在屋里，我偷偷拿了一块蛋糕。
[intransitive] sneak (on somebody) (to somebody) (old-fashioned, British English, disapproving) to tell an adult that another child has done something wrong, especially in order to cause trouble（儿童向成人）打小报告，告状 synonym snitch
- Did you sneak on me to the teacher?你有没有向老师告我的状？

Word Originlate 16th cent.: probably dialect; perhaps related to obsolete snike ‘to creep’.