thief
Americannoun
PLURAL
thievesnoun
-
a person who steals something from another
-
criminal law a person who commits theft
Usage
What does thief mean? A thief is a person who steals, especially in secret and without using force or violence.The plural of thief is thieves. The related noun theft refers to the act or an instance of stealing.In general, intentionally taking something that doesn’t belong to you makes you a thief. The word most commonly refers to a person who steals money or physical property, but a thief can steal other things, such as ideas, information, or intellectual property.The word thief typically refers to a person who steals without anyone noticing, at least not when the theft is taking place. In contrast, a person who steals by using force, violence, or threats of force or violence would more likely be called a robber. Still, the word thief is used generally to refer to someone who steals. In this way, a robber is a kind of thief.Most instances of theft are crimes, but a person might still be called a thief if they’ve committed a theft that won’t get them arrested. You might call your sibling a thief when they steal a cookie from your plate, for example.Example: I don’t care that he only stole a few things—he stole them, and that makes him a thief.
Related Words
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: A robber held up two women on the street.
Other Word Forms
- thievish adjective
- thievishly adverb
- thievishness noun
- underthief noun
Etymology
Origin of thief
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English thēof; cognate with Dutch dief, German Dieb, Old Norse thjōfr, Gothic thiufs
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“People, unfortunately, have turned into thieves, liars and cheaters, and I don’t know what’s happened to the world, but we’ve lost our way to be kind.”
From Los Angeles Times
France has since arrested the thieves behind its Oct.
The uncanny similarities between the scenario in the report and the robbery have raised questions about whether the thieves somehow obtained it to plot their heist.
The mayor of São Paulo told local media the thieves had already been identified but so far they remain on the run.
From BBC
"You can call the police, and they may turn up two or three hours later, by which time the thieves will have run away," he says.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
