sneaker

English

A pair of sneakers

A tennis shoe

Etymology

Related to how quiet the shoes are. sneak +‎ -er

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsnikɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːkə(ɹ)

Noun

sneaker (plural sneakers)

1. One who sneaks.
   • 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:

     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.

2. (US, Atlantic Canada, Australia, New Zealand) An athletic shoe with a soft, rubber sole. A trainer.
3. (UK, dialect, archaic) A vessel of drink.
   • Spectator

     I have just left the right worshipful and his myrmidons about a sneaker of five gallons!

4. (India, archaic) A large cup (or small basin) with a saucer and cover.
5. (biology) A sneaker male.
   • 2008, Faye Flam, The Score: The Science of the Male Sex Drive‎^[1]:

     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.

Synonyms

• (sports shoes): kicks, tennis shoe (US), trainer (UK), runner (Australia), takkie (South Africa), running shoe, see also Thesaurus:sports shoe

Hypernyms

• sports shoe

Derived terms

• sneaker sock
• sneaker wave

Translations

one who sneaks

• Afrikaans: sluiper
• Arabic: مُتَسَلِّل (mutasallil)
• Finnish: hiiviskelijä, hiipijä
• German: Schleicher m, Schleicherin f
• Spanish: pillo (es) m

leisure shoes, often worn for sports; trainers

• Albanian: atlete (sq)
• Arabic: حِذَاء رِيَاضِيّ m (ḥiḏāʔ riyāḍiyy)

  Egyptian Arabic: جزمة رياضية f (gázma reyaḍéyya), كوتشى m (kótši)

• Bulgarian: гуменки (bg) f pl (gumenki), маратонки (bg) f pl (maratonki)
• Catalan: vamba (ca) f, ked f (Lleida), sabatilla (ca)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 波鞋 (bo¹ haai⁴)

  Mandarin: 球鞋 (zh) (qiúxié), 運動鞋 / 运动鞋 (zh) (yùndòngxié)

• Czech: tenisky f pl, kecky f pl
• Dutch: sportschoenen (nl) pl or m
• Finnish: lenkkarit (fi) pl (colloquial), lenkkitossut pl, tossut (fi) pl
• French: baskets (fr) f pl, tennis (fr) f pl, espadrille (fr) f (Canada, Missouri, Louisiana, New England)
• Galician: tenis (gl) f, zapatilla f
• Georgian: სპორტული ფეხსაცმელი (sṗorṭuli pexsacmeli), ბოტასი (boṭasi), კედი (ḳedi)
• German: Turnschuhe (de) m pl, Leinenschuhe m pl, Schnürschuhe (de) m pl, Sneakers (de) m pl, Sportschuhe (de) m pl, Tennisschuhe (de) m pl,
• Greek: αθλητικά παπούτσια n pl (athlitiká papoútsia)
• Hungarian: tornacipő (hu), edzőcipő (hu)
• Icelandic: strigaskór (is) m
• Italian: scarpe da ginnastica f pl, scarpe da tennis f pl
• Japanese: スニーカー (ja) (sunīkā), 運動靴 (ja) (うんどうぐつ, undōgutsu)
• Korean: 스니커즈 (seunikeojeu), 운동화 (ko) (undonghwa)
• Lithuanian: sportbačiai pl, sportiniai batai pl
• Macedonian: па́тики f pl (pátiki)
• Malay: kasut sukan
• Norman: traîneurs m pl
• Norwegian: joggesko m
• Polish: tenisówki f pl, adidas (pl) m, trampek (pl) m
• Portuguese: tênis (pt) m, ténis (pt) m (Portugal)
• Romanian: baschet (ro) n
• Russian: кроссо́вки (ru) f pl (krossóvki), сни́керы (ru) m pl (sníkery), ке́ды (ru) m pl or f pl (kédy)
• Scottish Gaelic: brògan-cleasachd f pl
• Spanish: tenis m (especially Latin America, regional usage in Spain - in full : zapato de tenis), bamba f (Northeastern Spain), botín m (Seville, Southern Spain), champión m (Paraguay, Uruguay), deportiva f (Spain), espores m pl (Northeastern Argentina), espais m pl (Cantabria, Northern Central Spain), gomas f pl (Northwestern Venezuela), guachicón m (Northeastern Venezuela), kets m pl (Lleida, Catalonia, Northeastern Spain), kids m pl (Bolivia), maripís m pl (Aragon, Northern Central Spain), playera f (Spain), popis m pl (Cuba), zapatilla deportiva f (Argentina, Chile, Panama, Peru, Spain), zapato de goma m (Venezuelan standard usage), deportivas (es) f
• Swedish: gymnastikskor (sv), gympadojor (slang), gympaskor (sv) c pl
• Turkish: jimnastik ayakkabısı, lastik ayakkabı, lastik pabuç, sessiz ayakkabı, (slang) spor ayakkabı; spor ayakkabısı
• Ukrainian: кросі́вка f (krosívka), кросі́вки f pl (krosívky)

Anagrams

• rankees, Keerans, kenares, Keresan

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ikər

Noun

sneaker m (plural sneakers, diminutive sneakertje n)

1. sneaker

Synonyms

• sportschoen, gymschoen

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /esˈnikeɾ/ [ezˈni.keɾ]
• Rhymes: -ikeɾ

Noun

sneaker m (plural sneakeres)

1. sneaker