snoop
pronunciation
How to pronounce snoop in British English:
UK [snu:p]
How to pronounce snoop in American English:
US [snup]
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- Noun:
- a spy who makes uninvited inquiries into the private affairs of others
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- Verb:
- watch, observe, or inquire secretly
Word Origin
- snoop (v.)
- 1832, "to go around in a prying manner," American English, probably from Dutch snoepen "to pry," also "eat in secret, eat sweets, sneak," probably related to snappen "to bite, snatch" (see snap (v.)). Specific meaning "to pry into other people's business" is attested from 1921. Related: Snooped; snooping.
- snoop (n.)
- 1891, "act of snooping," from snoop (v.). Meaning "one who snoops" is from 1929; meaning "detective" is from 1942. snooper "one who pries or peeps" is from 1889.
Example
- 1. Many security analysts fret that the fake certificates have been used to snoop on iranian users of gmail , google 's e-mail service .
- 2. He rightly characterizes it as " an unnecessary extension of the ability of the state to snoop on ordinary innocent people in vast numbers . "
- 3. Fsb transactions go through 5 phases : arbitration , request , snoop , response , and data .