: a cautious, unobtrusive, and secretive way of moving or proceeding intended to avoid detection
Makos, among the fastest of sharks, chase down their prey. Slower species … rely on stealth and explosive power. Steve Kemper
The intricate labor … required courage and stealth. Sue M. Halpern
As we walked closer we began treading with exaggerated stealth until we came very close … Dorothy Dimsdale
A thief does his work in secret and by stealth. Harry Shaw
2
: an aircraft-design characteristic consisting of oblique angular construction and avoidance of vertical surfaces that is intended to produce a very weak radar return—usually used before another noun
a stealth bomber/fighterstealth aircraftstealth technology
Noun The fox uses stealth and cunning to hunt its prey. Adjective the SWAT team carried out a stealth raid on the house, which was believed to be harboring a terrorist cell
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Social stealth — the ability to hide out in the open by blending into various crowds and public environments — is a hallmark of the Assassin’s Creed series. Jonathan Lee, Washington Post, 13 July 2022 For further stealth, the shell is wrapped in multiple layers of Base64 encoding. Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 18 July 2022 All are fifth-generation fighters, the most advanced in the world, with the benefit of stealth, the ability to cruise above Mach 1 without the use of afterburners, and advanced radar and electro-optical sensors. Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 11 July 2022 Unless and until Sukhoi finally finishes developing the Su-57 stealth fighter, the Su-34M arguably is the most sophisticated warplane in Russian service. David Axe, Forbes, 18 July 2022 The Zumwalt-class stealth destroyers were supposed to be a class of 32 destroyers, but ballooning costs led to just three ships being built. Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 13 May 2022 Despite this track record of stealth and success, liberals have often dismissed Thomas as stupid or a sellout, a patsy and a puppet, the Justice who cannot speak. Corey Robin, The New Yorker, 9 July 2022 The group, which security firm Mandiant is calling UNC3524, has spent the past 18 months burrowing into victims’ networks with unusual stealth. Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 3 May 2022 Finland has a potent artillery force and is in the process of purchasing 64 F-35 stealth fighters. Missy Ryan, Washington Post, 19 May 2022
Adjective
Trial Library launched out of stealth with $5 million in funding led by Lux Capital partner Deena Shakir. Casey Ross And Katie Palmer, STAT, 27 Aug. 2022 The platform is Salesroom, which came out of stealth on Wednesday with an $8.5 million funding announcement, led by Craft Ventures. Phoebe Liu, Forbes, 24 June 2022 First by stealth, then by degrees, and now by great leaps, China is building a blue water navy and a network of bases to extend its military and political influence. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 7 June 2022 The news was a stealth price hike for the service in the sense that the ad-free version of the service will cost $10.99 a month by then, compared with $7.99 now. Dan Gallagher, WSJ, 10 Aug. 2022 Smaller seed rounds are still churning along, too, with pediatric telehealth startup Summer Health coming out of stealth with $7.5 million led by Sequoia and Lux Capital, with participation from Chelsea Clinton and more. Katie Palmer And Casey Ross, STAT, 28 July 2022 In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Portland General Electric's computers sent a remote, stealth command to Michael Irving's thermostat in Tigard, Oregon, telling it to turn itself down a few degrees. Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, 28 July 2022 The stealth release — back then, partly a defensive strategy against leaks — is what mostly captured public imagination.New York Times, 25 July 2022 Ghost Recon Frontline, a battle royale concept that had already gone into early playtesting; and Splinter Cell VR, a new, Meta Quest-exclusive entry in the longtime stealth-action series. Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, 21 July 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English stelthe; akin to Old English stelan to steal