snuck

[ snuhk ]

1. a past participle and simple past tense of sneak.

snuck

/ snʌk /

verb

1. not_standard.
   a past tense and past participle of sneak

Usage Note

See sneak.

Example Sentences

I snuck out demoralized at 11 p.m. and woke to find the worst had happened.

From Salon

Inspired, Stamper snuck into her first house party at the age of 14, and found her true calling.

From BBC

I missed in those early days a consequence that has snuck up on me in mid-life: how much I really hate making less money than my friends.

From Salon

He outmuscled Rios, with the challenger covering up as left and right hooks landed on the temple and snappy uppercuts snuck through the high guard.

From BBC

Soon after the tragedy, Bell snuck into a drama-department-only session to hear Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy speak about acting as an honorable profession.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• ambush
• crawl
• creep
• evade
• hide
• slink
• slip
• slither
• smuggle
• steal

Is Snuck A Word?

And is snuck in the dictionary?

Snuck is a word. It is the simple past tense and past participle of the verb sneak, as in I snuck past her bedroom door. Snuck causes some confusion because sneaked is also a valid form of the past tense and past participle of sneak, as in I sneaked past her bedroom door. Snuck is the more common past tense form of sneak, however.

Snuck Vs. Sneaked

What's the difference between snuck and sneaked?

Both snuck and sneaked are acceptable past tense forms of the verb sneak.

Historically, sneaked (which is older) has been the more widely accepted version, with snuck being considered nonstandard, but snuck has a long history of use and is now very common.

Sneaked uses the regular past tense ending -ed, while snuck is an irregular verb. Irregular verbs don’t follow a set pattern in the forms of their different tenses, as in take/took/taken and sing/sang/sung.

Sneaked is more commonly used (and often preferred) in more formal contexts (though the word sneak itself can sound a bit informal).

Here are examples of how snuck and sneaked can be used interchangeably.

Example with snuck: When I was a kid, I once snuck into a movie theater, but I got caught.

Example with sneaked: When I was a kid, I once sneaked into a movie theater, but I got caught.

Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between snuck and sneaked.

Quiz yourself on snuck vs. sneaked!

Would it be acceptable to use either snuck or sneaked in the following sentence?

He _____ back into the building to steal the documents.