thief

(thēf)

n. pl. thieves (thēvz)

One who commits the act or crime of theft.

[Middle English, from Old English thēof.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

thief

(θiːf)

n, pl thieves (θiːvz)

1. a person who steals something from another

2. (Law) criminal law a person who commits theft

[Old English thēof; related to Old Frisian thiāf, Old Saxon thiof, Old High German diob, Old Norse thjōfr, Gothic thiufs]

ˈthievish adj

ˈthievishly adv

ˈthievishness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

thief

(θif)

n., pl. thieves.

a person who steals, esp. secretly.

[before 900; Middle English; Old English thēof, c. Old Frisian thiāf, Old Saxon thiof, Old High German thiob, Old Norse thjōfr, Gothic thiufs]

syn: thief, robber refer to one who steals. A thief takes the goods or property of another by stealth without the latter's knowledge: like a thief in the night. A robber trespasses upon the house, property, or person of another, and makes away with things of value, even at the cost of violence: An armed robber held up the store owner.

thief

jilt - A female accomplice to a thief.
furtive - Someone who is furtive literally "carries things away like a thief."
ferret - Its name comes from Latin furritus, "little thief"—alluding to the animal's affinity for stealing hens' eggs.
thief - Has the underlying meaning of "crouching, furtive person."

thief

– robber – burglar

Anyone that steals can be called a thief. A robber often uses violence or the threat of violence to steal things from places such as banks or shops.

They caught the armed robber who raided a supermarket.

A burglar breaks into houses or other buildings and steals things.

The average burglar spends just two minutes inside your house.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

thief - a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it

stealer

bandit, brigand - an armed thief who is (usually) a member of a band

shoplifter, lifter, booster - a thief who steals goods that are in a store

burglar - a thief who enters a building with intent to steal

criminal, crook, felon, malefactor, outlaw - someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime

dacoit, dakoit - a member of an armed gang of robbers

defalcator, embezzler, peculator - someone who violates a trust by taking (money) for his own use

body snatcher, ghoul, graverobber - someone who takes bodies from graves and sells them for anatomical dissection

graverobber - someone who steals valuables from graves or crypts

holdup man, stickup man - an armed thief

larcener, larcenist - a person who commits larceny

cutpurse, pickpocket, dip - a thief who steals from the pockets or purses of others in public places

literary pirate, pirate, plagiariser, plagiarist, plagiarizer - someone who uses another person's words or ideas as if they were his own

despoiler, freebooter, looter, pillager, plunderer, raider, spoiler - someone who takes spoils or plunder (as in war)

robber - a thief who steals from someone by threatening violence

cattle thief, rustler - someone who steals livestock (especially cattle)

cracksman, safebreaker, safecracker - a thief who breaks open safes to steal valuable contents

snatcher - a thief who grabs and runs; "a purse snatcher"

pilferer, sneak thief, snitcher - a thief who steals without using violence

thief

noun robber, crook (informal), burglar, stealer, bandit, plunderer, mugger (informal), shoplifter, embezzler, pickpocket, pilferer, swindler, purloiner, housebreaker, footpad (archaic), cracksman (slang), larcenist The thieves snatched the camera.

Quotations
"Thieves respect property. They merely wish the property to become their property that they may more perfectly respect it" [G.K. Chesterton The Man who was Thursday]

Proverbs
"Set a thief to catch a thief"

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

thief

noun

A person who steals:

bandit, burglar, highwayman, housebreaker, larcener, larcenist, pilferer, purloiner, robber, stealer.

Translations

لِصلِصّ

zloděj-ka

tyv

varasvoro

lopovtat

tolvaj

òjófur

ladro rubare borsaiolo furto ladra

泥棒

도둑

zaglis

hoţ

tat

kradljivaclopovtat

tjuv

mwizi

ขโมย

hırsız

kẻ trộm

小偷

thief

[θiːf] N (thieves (pl)) [θiːvz] → ladrón/ona m/f
stop thief! → ¡al ladrón!
you have to set a thief to catch a thief → no hay como un ladrón para atrapar a otro
see also thick A7

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

thief

[ˈθiːf] [thieves] [ˈθiːvz] (pl) n → voleur/euse m/f
stop thief! → au voleur!

thief

n pl <thieves> → Dieb(in) m(f); to set a thief to catch a thief (prov) → einen vom Fach benutzen; to be as thick as thieves (Brit) → dicke Freunde sein (inf)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

thief

[θiːf] n (thieves (pl)) [θiːvz] → ladro/a
stop thief! → al ladro!

thief

(θiːv) – plural thieves (θiːvs) – noun

a person who steals. The thief got away with all my money.

thieve (θiːf) verb

to steal. He is always thieving my pencils.

thief

→ لِصّ zloděj tyv Dieb κλέφτης ladrón varas voleur lopov ladro 泥棒 도둑 dief tyv złodziej ladrão вор tjuv ขโมย hırsız kẻ trộm 小偷

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

A SUCCESSFUL Man of Business, having occasion to write to a Thief, expressed a wish to see him and shake hands.

"No," replied the Thief, "there are some things which I will not take - among them your hand."

View in context

Seeing the boy scudding away at such a rapid pace, he very naturally concluded him to be the depredator; and shouting 'Stop thief!' with all his might, made off after him, book in hand.

They no sooner heard the cry, and saw Oliver running, than, guessing exactly how the matter stood, they issued forth with great promptitude; and, shouting 'Stop thief!' too, joined in the pursuit like good citizens.

View in context

``If thou best a miller,'' answered Gurth, undauntedly, making his weapon play around his head with equal dexterity, ``thou art doubly a thief, and I, as a true man, bid thee defiance.''

View in context

After a long and fruitless search, he made a vow that, if he could only discover the thief who had stolen the Calf, he would offer a lamb in sacrifice to Hermes, Pan, and the Guardian Deities of the forest.

View in context

What thief would find his way to the Stone-pits on such a night as this?

And now that all the false hopes had vanished, and the first shock of certainty was past, the idea of a thief began to present itself, and he entertained it eagerly, because a thief might be caught and made to restore the gold.

View in context

rifodé ; that is to say, in the slang of honest folks,--a thief, a beggar, or a vagabond.

View in context

'What noise was that?' said the thief, frightened; 'I'm sure I heard someone speak.' They stood still listening, and Tom said, 'Take me with you, and I'll soon show you how to get the parson's money.' 'But where are you?' said they.

View in context

They at once adopted the obvious conclusion to persons of ordinary capacity--the conclusion that Isabel was the thief.

View in context

Theft he could not abide, and plainly there was a thief in his house.

View in context