different between clump vs sneak

English

Etymology

From Middle English clompe, from Old English clymppe, a variant of clympre (“a lump or mass of metal”), from Proto-Germanic *klumpô (“mass, lump, clump; clasp”), from Proto-Indo-European *glemb?- (“lump, clamp”).Alternatively, possibly from Middle Dutch clompe or Middle Low German klumpe (compare German Klumpen). Cognates include Danish klump (probably from Low German as well). Compare Norwegian Bokmål klump.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kl?mp/
• Rhymes: -?mp

Noun

clump (plural clumps)

1. A cluster or lump; an unshaped piece or mass.
2. A thick group or bunch, especially of bushes or hair.
   • 1954, Lucian Hobart Ryland (translator), Adelaide of Brunswick (originally by Marquis de Sade)

     clump of trees

3. A dull thud.
4. The compressed clay of coal strata.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Brande & C to this entry?)

5. A small group of trees or plants.
6. (historical) A thick addition to the sole of a shoe.

Derived terms

• clumpy

Translations

to be checked

Verb

clump (third-person singular simple present clumps, present participle clumping, simple past and past participle clumped)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To form clusters or lumps.
2. (transitive, intransitive) To gather in dense groups.
3. (intransitive) To walk with heavy footfalls.
4. (transitive, Britain, regional) To strike; to beat.
   • 1912, Mrs. Coulson Kernahan, The Go-Between (page 79)

     There is his poor little cap hanging up on the door; and there on the table is the knife he chipped a piece out of through not minding the mark on the knife machine, and I clumped his head for him, poor lamb!

Derived terms

• clump up

Translations

References

Further reading

• Clump in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

English

Etymology

Possibly from Middle English sniken (“to creep, crawl”), from Old English sn?can (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-West Germanic *sn?kan, from Proto-Germanic *sn?kan? (“to creep, crawl”), which is related to the root of snake. Compare Danish snige (“to sneak”), Swedish snika (“to sneak, hanker after”), Icelandic sníkja (“to sneak, hanker after”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sni?k/
• Rhymes: -i?k

Noun

sneak (plural sneaks)

1. One who sneaks; one who moves stealthily to acquire an item or information.

2. The act of sneaking
3. A cheat; a con artist.

   Synonyms: con artist, trickster; see also Thesaurus:confidence trickster, Thesaurus:deceiver

4. An informer; a tell-tale.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:informant

5. (obsolete, cricket) A ball bowled so as to roll along the ground; a daisy-cutter
6. (US) A sneaker; a tennis shoe.
   • 2014, Faye McKnight, Goodnight, Bob (page 9)

     We would have been laughed off the street in Philadelphia if we were seen wearing sneaks. In the big city, the young population wore loafers or boots.

7. (American football) A play where the quarterback receives the snap and immediately dives forward.

Translations

Verb

sneak (third-person singular simple present sneaks, present participle sneaking, simple past and past participle sneaked or snuck)

1. (intransitive) To creep or go stealthily; to come or go while trying to avoid detection, as a person who does not wish to be seen.

   Synonym: skulk

2. (transitive) To take something stealthily without permission.

3. (ditransitive) To stealthily bring someone something.

4. (transitive, dated) To hide, especially in a mean or cowardly manner.
   • 1701, William Wake, A rationale upon some texts of Scripture

     [Slander] sneaks its head.

5. (intransitive, informal, with on) To inform an authority of another's misdemeanours.

   Synonyms: grass, snitch, tell tales

Usage notes

• The past and past participle snuck is primarily found in North American English, where it originated in the late 19th century as a dialectal form. It is still regarded as informal by some, but its use appears to be increasing in frequency and acceptability. It is occasionally found in British and Australian/Hiberno-English, too, though regarded as an American form. (See Oxford Dictionaries, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, Webster's New World College Dictionary.)
• Informally, snook is also often found as the past tense. It is considered nonstandard.
• To sneak (take) something is not the same as to steal something. In this sense, sneak typically implies trying to avoid a supervisor's or guardian's mild displeasure or mild discipline, while steal indicates a more serious action and often the person stealing does not know the owner of the item being stolen.

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

sneak (not comparable)

1. In advance; before release to the general public.

2. In a stealthy or surreptitious manner.

Derived terms

• sneak attack
• sneak peek
• sneak preview

Anagrams

• Kasen, Keans, Snake, akens, asken, kaens, kenas, nakes, skean, snake

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English sneak

Verb

sneak

1. first-person singular present indicative of sneaken
2. imperative of sneaken