Meanings
nounsneaker (plural sneakers)
plural sneakers
- One who sneaks.
Beshrew the man who on such a day as this, the general festival, should affect to stand aloof. I am none of those sneakers. I am free of the corporation, and care not who knows it.
1823, Elia [pseudonym; Charles Lamb], Elia. Essays which have Appeared under that Signature in The London Magazine, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey, […], →OCLC - Atlantic CanadaAustraliaFloridaNew ZealandNortheasternUSAn athletic shoe with a soft, rubber sole. A trainer.
He was wearing a stained white singlet that revealed tufts of black hair under his arms, and slept-in white canvas trousers and rubber-soled sneakers.
1954, Ian Fleming, “Death of a Pelican”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 138 - biologyA sneaker male.
These sneakers may go on this way indefinitely, or, if one of the big males somehow dies or disappears, a sneaker male's hormones will trigger a huge growth spurt and he'll metamorphose into an alpha male.
2008, Faye Flam, The Score: The Science of the Male Sex Drive
Synonyms & antonyms
sports shoes
Similar
Broader
nounsomeone acting as an informer or decoy for the police
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From sneak + -er. The shoes sense is a reference to the quietness of the shoes.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans sluiper
- sluiperone who sneaks
Arabic مُتَسَلِّل, حِذَاء رِيَاضِيّ
- مُتَسَلِّل (mutasallil)one who sneaks
- حِذَاء رِيَاضِيّ (ḥiḏāʔ riyāḍiyy)leisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Bulgarian гу́менка, марато́нка
- гу́менка (gúmenka)leisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- марато́нка (maratónka)leisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Catalan vamba, ked (Lleida)
- vambaleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- ked (Lleida)leisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- sabatillaleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Chinese Cantonese 波鞋
- 波鞋 (bo¹ haai⁴)leisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Chinese Mandarin 球鞋, 運動鞋 /运动鞋
- 球鞋 (qiúxié)leisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- 運動鞋 /运动鞋 (yùndòngxié)leisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Czech tenisky, kecky
- teniskyleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- keckyleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Dutch sportschoenen, sneaker
- sportschoenenleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- sneakerleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Estonian tennised, tennisking
- tennisedleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- tenniskingleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Finnish hiiviskelijä, hiipijä
- hiiviskelijäone who sneaks
- hiipijäone who sneaks
- lenkkaritleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- lenkkitossutleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- tossutleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- tenniskenkäleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
French baskets, tennis
- basketsleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- tennisleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- espadrilleleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
German Schleicher, Schleicherin
- Schleicherone who sneaks
- Schleicherinone who sneaks
- Turnschuheleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- Leinenschuheleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- Schnürschuheleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- Sneakersleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- Sportschuheleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- Tennisschuheleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Greek αθλητικά παπούτσια
- αθλητικά παπούτσια (athlitiká papoútsia)leisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Hungarian tornacipő, edzőcipő
- tornacipőleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- edzőcipőleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- teniszcipőleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Icelandic strigaskór
- strigaskórleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Indonesian penyelinap, sepatu kets
- penyelinapone who sneaks
- sepatu ketsleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- sepatu olahragaleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Italian scarpe da ginnastica, scarpe da tennis
- scarpe da ginnasticaleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- scarpe da tennisleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Japanese スニーカー, 運動靴
- スニーカー (sunīkā)leisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- 運動靴 (undōgutsu)leisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Korean 스니커즈, 운동화
- 스니커즈 (seunikeojeu)leisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- 운동화 (undonghwa)leisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Latvian teniskurpe
- teniskurpeleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Lithuanian sportbačiai, sportiniai batai
- sportbačiaileisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- sportiniai bataileisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Malay kasut sukan
- kasut sukanleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Norwegian Bokmål joggesko
- joggeskoleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Polish adidas, trampek
- adidasleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- trampekleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- tenisówkaleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Portuguese tênis, ténis
- tênisleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- ténisleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Romanian baschet
- baschetleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Russian кроссо́вки, сни́керы
- кроссо́вки (krossóvki)leisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- сни́керы (sníkery)leisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- ке́ды (kédy)leisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Scottish Gaelic brògan-cleasachd
- brògan-cleasachdleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Slovak teniska
- teniskaleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Spanish pillo, tenis
- pilloone who sneaks
- tenisleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- bambaleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- botínleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- champiónleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- deportivasleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- esporesleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- espaisleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- gomasleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- guachicónleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- ketsleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- kidsleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Swedish gymnastikskor, gympadojor
- gymnastikskorleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- gympadojorleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- gympaskorleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- löparskoleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- springskoleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- sportskoleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- tennisskoleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- gymnastikskoleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Tagalog sapato na panakbo
- sapato na panakboleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Thai รองเท้าผ้าใบ
- รองเท้าผ้าใบleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Turkish jimnastik ayakkabısı, lastik ayakkabı
- jimnastik ayakkabısıleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- lastik ayakkabıleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- lastik pabuçleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- sessiz ayakkabıleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- spor ayakkabıleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- spor ayakkabısıleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Ukrainian кросі́вка, сні́кер
- кросі́вка (krosívka)leisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- сні́кер (sníker)leisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Vietnamese giày điền kinh, giày ten-nít
- giày điền kinhleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
- giày ten-nítleisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with sneaker
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
sneaker. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sneaker
MLA
“sneaker.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sneaker. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sneaker,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sneaker.
Source: sneaker on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.