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Sleuth vs Snoop - What's the difference?

sleuth | snoop |

As nouns the difference between sleuth and snoop

is that sleuth is an animal’s trail or track while snoop is the act of snooping.

As verbs the difference between sleuth and snoop

is that sleuth is to act as a detective; to try to discover who committed a crime while snoop is to be devious and cunning so as not to be seen.

sleuth

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) (Norwegian slo).

Noun

(en noun)
  • (obsolete) An animal’s trail or track.
  • (archaic) A sleuth-hound; a bloodhound.
  • A detective.
  • * 1908 , (Frank L. Baum), Aunt Jane’s Nieces at Millville
    • Do ye want me to become a sleuth , or engage detectives to track the objects of your erroneous philanthropy?
    Synonyms
    * (detective) detective

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (transitive) To act as a detective; to try to discover who committed a crime.
  • * 1922 , , The Secret Adversary
    • We must discover where he lives, what he does — sleuth him, in fact!
    Synonyms
    * shadow

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) , corresponding to (slow) + (-th).

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (obsolete, uncountable) Slowness; laziness, sloth.
  • (rare) A collective term for a group of bears.
  • * 1961 , , A Passport Secretly Green , p.89
    • As quietly as if I were practicing to join a sleuth of bears , I crept out the door and went on home, eventually winding up in the garage…
  • * 1995 , , The Girl Sleuth , p.13
    • If these dainty adventurers weren’t being chased by a sleuth of bears or bogeys, they were being captured by Gypsies or thieves.
  • * 2007 , , The Lightkeepers’ Menagerie: Stories of Animals at Lighthouses , p.200
    • From the darkness came the howls of routs of wolves and bands of coyotes, the rumbling growls of a sleuth of bears or the bugles of a gang of elk.
    Synonyms
    * (sloth) idleness, inertia, laziness, lethargy, sloth, slothfulness * (collective term for a group of bears) sloth

    See also

    * sloth *

    Anagrams

    * English collective nouns

    snoop

    English

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To be devious and cunning so as not to be seen.
  • To secretly spy on or investigate, especially into the private personal life of others.
    • If I had not snooped on her, I wouldn't have found out that she lied about her degree.

    Related terms

    * snoop around

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The act of snooping
  • One who snoops
    • Be careful what you say around Gene because he's the bosses' snoop .
  • A private detective
    • She hired a snoop to find out if her husband was having an affair.

    References

    * 1996, T.F. Hoad, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Etymology , Oxford University Press, ISBN 0192830988

    Anagrams

    * *