Which is correct: “sneaked” or “snuck”?
The past tense of sneak originally was sneaked. Now, snuck is commonly accepted as the past tense and past participle forms of the present tense, sneak.
Some still consider snuck a colloquialismāin other words, snuck is conversational or nonstandard. This does not make snuck incorrectāit just means that some are against its use. If you need a resource to arbitrate the debate on the past tense of ‘sneak’, you can refer to this blog.
What’s does sneak mean?
To sneak, as described by Collins Dictionary, describes ātrying to avoid being seen or heardā. To sneak off somewhere means to leave in a way that doesnāt attract attention. ‘Sneaking something’ means taking, bringing, or doing something in a discreet way.
Verb forms of sneak
| Present | Past | Future | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | I sneak | I sneaked or snuck | I will sneak |
| Continuous | I am sneaking | I was sneaking | I will be sneaking |
| Perfect | I have snuck or sneaked | I had snuck or sneaked | I will have snuck or sneaked |
| Perfect Continuous | I have been sneaking | I had been sneaking | I will have been sneaking |
Remember to always pair participles with auxiliaries to create perfect and continuous tenses! Use āhaveā, āhasā, or āhadā to form perfect tenses, and a form of ‘to be’ for continuous.
Is sneak a regular or irregular verb?
- Snuck is irregular and sneaked is regular.
Because snuck does not end in -ed in the past tense, it’s an irregular verb form. Sneaked is the regular verb form. Sneak can be both a regular and irregular verb, depending on the form you use.
| Base verb | Past tense | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| sneak | sneaked or snuck | sneaked or snuck |
| swing | swung | swung |
| sting | stung | stung |
| stick | stuck | stuck |
Sneak in sentence examples
| Verb form | Example Sentences |
|---|---|
| Sneak (or sneaks or sneaking) |
I can hear you sneaking around! Let's sneak the tickets early. He sneaks through the hallway without being noticed. |
| Sneaked (past tenses) |
I'd sneaked up and frightened them. She sneaked her way to the front row. |
| Snuck |
I had snuck out without getting caught. He snuck past me without a word. |
Quotes from literature and the media
He wanted to sneak her into his room.
āR. Jaffe, Class Reunion
There was some suspicion that a couple of guests had snuck friends in.
I snuck in there and grabbed it.
āR. Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely
I have..sneaked along the walks, with that astonished and diffident air.
āA. Pope, Correspondence 25 September (1956) vol. I. 255
They..sneaked from my door with every mark of..servile cowardice.
āT. Hook, Sayings & Doings 2nd Series vol. II. 51
Origin of the word sneak
From etymology online on sneak (v.):
1550s (implied in sneakish), perhaps from some dialectal survival of Middle English sniken “to creep, crawl” (c. 1200), related to Old English snican “to sneak along, creep, crawl,” from Proto-Germanic *sneikanan, which is related to the root of snake (n.).
Practice: Forms of “Sneak”
He ______ into the kitchen late at night for a snack.
In informal American English, it is common to hear that someone ______ out of the house.
She tried to ______ a peek at the answers during the test.
They had ______ past the guard without being seen.
The cat ______ up on the unsuspecting mouse.
FAQs
Is “snuck” or “sneaked” correct?
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What tense is “I snuck”?
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Is “sneak” a regular verb?
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How is “snuck” used in sentences?
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Sources
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āColloquialism, N.ā Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, July 2023, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/9374730616.
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R, Jaffe. Class Reunion: A Novel. USA TODAY, 1979.
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McCarron, Kevin. "Chandler, Raymond Thornton (1888ā1959), writer." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. September 01, 2017. Oxford University Press. Date of access 2 Sep. 2025.
Yash, D. "How to use The Past Tense of Sneak (Irregular Verbs, Explained)." Grammarflex, Sep 24, 2025, https://grammarflex.com/whats-the-past-tense-of-sneak-sneaked-or-snuck/.
