What does snoop mean?
To snoop is to look into matters that are private, unrelated, or not intended for your attention. The word often suggests a combination of curiosity and improper intrusion: someone who snoops may read messages, listen to conversations, examine personal belongings, or otherwise try to discover information covertly. Snoop can also be used more neutrally for searching around an unfamiliar place, though this use usually retains a slightly playful or furtive tone. As a noun, a snoop is a person who behaves in this inquisitive or intrusive way. The term is common in informal English in both British and American usage, but its strongest connotation is negative, particularly when someone accesses private information without permission. It is especially associated with digital privacy, surveillance, and gossip.
To investigate other people's affairs in a nosy or covert way, or to search around inquisitively.
"They snoop around online to find information about strangers."
Informal; usually implies curiosity, intrusion, or furtiveness.
A person who investigates other people's affairs in a nosy or covert way.
"His curiosity made him an inveterate snoop."
Informal and generally disapproving.
The plural is used for people who habitually snoop or investigate other people's affairs.
"Reporters should not become snoops who invade their subjects' privacy."
Snoop captures the particular curiosity of turning attention toward other people's private business.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does snoop come from?
Snoop is an early 20th-century word whose exact origin is uncertain. Its earliest uses and related forms developed in the language of nosing, prying, and searching for information, and it later became especially common in expressions describing intrusive investigation or covert observation.
Related word forms
How snoop is actually used
The verb is informal and usually carries a negative or disapproving connotation, implying curiosity, intrusion, or secrecy. In British English, it is especially associated with searching or looking around; in American English, it is also commonly used for covertly monitoring other people's activities.
Easily confused with snoop
To snoop is to look into other people's affairs, whereas to snooze is to take a short nap.