stealth

UK: /ˈstɛlθ/ US: /stɛlθ/ ,(stelth)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

stealth /stɛlθ/   n. [uncountable]

1. secret procedure, action, or movement:
   moved with stealth in the darkness.

adj. 

2. Military having or providing the ability to escape detection by radar:
   [often: Stealth] Stealth planes.

stealth•i•ly /ˈstɛlθəli/  adv. 
stealth•i•ness, n. [uncountable]
stealth•y, adj., -i•er, -i•est. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

stealth (stelth),  n. 

1. secret, clandestine, or surreptitious procedure.
2. a furtive departure or entrance.
3. [Obs.]
   • an act of stealing;
     theft.
   • the thing stolen;
     booty.
4. Military (cap.) a U.S. Air Force project involving a range of technologies, with the purpose of developing aircraft that are difficult to detect by sight, sound, radar, and infrared energy.

adj. 

5. surreptitious;
   secret;
   not openly acknowledged:
   a stealth hiring of the competitor's CEO; the stealth issue of the Presidential race.

• 1200–50; Middle English stelthe; compare Old English stælthing theft. See steal, -th¹

stealth′ful, adj. 
stealth′ful•ly, adv. 
stealth′less, adj. 

stealth, +adj. 

1. surreptitious;
   secret;
   not openly acknowledged:
   a stealth hiring of the competitor's CEO; the stealth issue of the Presidential race.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

stealth / stɛlθ/ noun

1. the act or characteristic of moving with extreme care and quietness, esp so as to avoid detection
2. cunning or underhand procedure or dealing
3. (modifier) denoting or referring to technology that aims to reduce the radar, thermal, and acoustic recognizability of aircraft and missiles

Etymology: 13th Century stelthe; see steal, -th¹