snoop
/snu:p/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb:
- To investigate or look around in a secretive or intrusive manner, especially into other people's private matters.
- To watch or observe someone or something secretly, often with the implication of prying.
Noun:
- A person who investigates or looks into things in a secretive and intrusive way; a person who snoops.
Usage and Examples
Verb:
- The journalist was accused of trying to snoop on the celebrity's private emails.
- I saw a stranger snooping around the back of the house.
- It's rude to snoop through your roommate's belongings.
Noun:
- The private detective was nothing more than a cheap snoop.
- She didn't want to be seen as a snoop, so she avoided asking too many personal questions.
Advanced Usage
- "to snoop on/into/around": These prepositions are commonly used with the verb "snoop".
- snoop on someone: to secretly watch or investigate a person.
- snoop into something: to pry into matters, affairs, or information.
- snoop around (a place): to look around a place in a secretive or searching way.
Variants and Related Words
- Snooper (noun): Another word for a person who snoops; a synonym for the noun "snoop".
- Snoopy (adjective): Inclined to snoop; overly curious about other people's affairs. (Note: This is also the name of a famous cartoon dog character known for his curiosity).
Synonyms
- Verb: Spy, pry, nose (around), poke (around), investigate secretly.
- Noun: Busybody, spy, detective, investigator, meddler.
Related Phrasal Verbs / Constructions
- Snoop around: To move about a place looking at things in a secretive or inquisitive way.
- The security guard caught him snooping around the office after hours.
Related Idioms
- None directly formed with "snoop" as the core word. The word itself often carries the idiomatic sense of inappropriate or secretive investigation.
Noun
- a spy who makes uninvited inquiries into the private affairs of others
Verb
- watch, observe, or inquire secretly