stealing
Also found in: Medical, Legal, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
steal
(stēl)v. stole (stōl), sto·len (stō′lən), steal·ing, steals
v.tr.
1. To take (the property of another) without right or permission.
2. To present or use (someone else's words or ideas) as one's own.
3. To get or take secretly or artfully: steal a look at a diary; steal the puck from an opponent.
4. To give or enjoy (a kiss) that is unexpected or unnoticed.
5. To draw attention unexpectedly in (an entertainment), especially by being the outstanding performer: The magician's assistant stole the show with her comic antics.
6. Baseball To advance safely to (another base) during the delivery of a pitch, without the aid of a base hit, walk, passed ball, or wild pitch.
v.intr.
1. To steal another's property.
2. To move, happen, or elapse stealthily or unobtrusively: He stole away for a quiet moment. The deadline stole up on us.
3. Baseball To steal a base.
n.
Idiom: 1. The act of stealing.
2. Slang A bargain.
3. Baseball A stolen base.
4. Basketball An act of gaining possession of the ball from an opponent.
steal (someone's) thunder
To use, appropriate, or preempt the use of another's idea, especially to one's own advantage and without consent by the originator.
[Middle English stelen, from Old English stelan.]
steal′er n.
Synonyms: steal, purloin, filch, pilfer, swipe, lift, pinch
These verbs mean to take another's property wrongfully, often surreptitiously. Steal is the most general: stole a car; steals research from colleagues. To purloin is to make off with something, often in a breach of trust: purloined the key to his cousin's safe-deposit box. Filch often suggests that what is stolen is of little value, while pilfer sometimes connotes theft of or in small quantities: filched towels from the hotel; pilfered fruit from the farmer. Swipe frequently connotes quick, furtive snatching or seizing: swiped a magazine from the rack. To lift is to take something surreptitiously and keep it for oneself: a pickpocket who lifts wallets on the subway. Pinch can apply loosely to any kind of stealing, but literally it means taking something by picking it up between the thumb and the fingers: pinched a dollar from the till.
These verbs mean to take another's property wrongfully, often surreptitiously. Steal is the most general: stole a car; steals research from colleagues. To purloin is to make off with something, often in a breach of trust: purloined the key to his cousin's safe-deposit box. Filch often suggests that what is stolen is of little value, while pilfer sometimes connotes theft of or in small quantities: filched towels from the hotel; pilfered fruit from the farmer. Swipe frequently connotes quick, furtive snatching or seizing: swiped a magazine from the rack. To lift is to take something surreptitiously and keep it for oneself: a pickpocket who lifts wallets on the subway. Pinch can apply loosely to any kind of stealing, but literally it means taking something by picking it up between the thumb and the fingers: pinched a dollar from the till.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. |  stealing - the act of taking something from someone unlawfully; "the thieving is awful at Kennedy International"breach of trust with fraudulent intent - larceny after trust rather than after unlawful taking felony - a serious crime (such as murder or arson) embezzlement, misappropriation, peculation, misapplication, defalcation - the fraudulent appropriation of funds or property entrusted to your care but actually owned by someone else pilferage - the act of stealing small amounts or small articles shoplifting, shrinkage - the act of stealing goods that are on display in a store; "shrinkage is the retail trade's euphemism for shoplifting" robbery - larceny by threat of violence biopiracy - biological theft; illegal collection of indigenous plants by corporations who patent them for their own use grand larceny, grand theft - larceny of property having a value greater than some amount (the amount varies by locale) petit larceny, petty, petty larceny - larceny of property having a value less than some amount (the amount varies by locale) skimming - failure to declare income in order to avoid paying taxes on it rustling - the stealing of cattle |
| 2. |  stealing - avoiding detection by moving carefully |