Definition

1. 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.

2. 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

1. a spy who makes uninvited inquiries into the private affairs of others

Verb

1. watch, observe, or inquire secretly