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stealth

UK/stɛlθ/US/stɛlθ/
nounB2Common in everyday speech and writing · #5,060 of 15,258neutral

Stealth is moving so quietly that nobody notices. By stealth, stealth tactics, a stealth aircraft.

By stealth is the phrase that carries a judgement — a stealth tax is one imposed without being announced as one. A stealth aircraft is shaped and coated to scatter radar rather than to be invisible. The word comes from the same root as steal.

Definitions of stealth

  1. 1nounstealthMoving so quietly that nobody notices.B2

    “The cat crept towards the bird with great stealth.”

stealth is a secrecy.

Where it comes from

Middle English stelthe comes from stelan, to steal. The word first meant the act of stealing.

  1. Proto-Germanic

    *stēliþō

  2. Old English

    stǣlþ

  3. Middle English

    stelthe

  4. English, today

    stealth

From Middle English stelthe, from Old English stǣlþ, from Proto-Germanic stēliþō, to Proto-Germanic stelaną (“to steal, to sneak”) + -iþō, equivalent to steal + th. Compare Old English stalu (“theft, stealth”), Old High German stāla (“theft”), German Diebstahl (“theft”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

stealth in the wild

  • The Northrop B-2 Spirit is an American nuclear-capable subsonic stealth strategic bomber, often referred to as a "stealth bomber", solely operated by the United States Air Force.

    Northrop B-2 Spirit

  • A four-engined flying wing and lambda wing with a crew of two to three, it is designed with stealth technology to penetrate sophisticated air defenses.

    Northrop B-2 Spirit

  • A stealth game is a type of video game in which the player primarily uses stealth to avoid or overcome opponents.

    Stealth game

  • The concept of stealth is to operate or hide from external observation.

    Stealth technology

  • The degree of stealth embodied in a given design is chosen according to the projected threats of detection.

    Stealth technology

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

  • steal