filch
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has filchedperfect 3rd person singular
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have filchedperfect
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has been filchingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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are filchingprogressive
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am filchingprogressive 1st person singular
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is filchingprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been filchingperfect progressive
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filchessingular 3rd person
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filchingparticiple
Past
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had filchedperfect
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were filchingprogressive plural
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filchedsimple
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was filchingprogressive singular
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had been filchingperfect progressive
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filchedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of filch
1250–1300; Middle English filchen to attack (in a body), take as booty, Old English fylcian to marshal (troops), draw (soldiers) up in battle array, derivative of gefylce band of men; akin to folk
Explanation
You can filch money, time, and stuff, but I wouldn't recommend it. Filching is stealing, as in "You filched my cookies!" Doesn't filch just sound kind of dirty? That could be because it's one letter away from filth, but it's also true that stealing is usually considered a dirty, lowdown deed. No one wants their things to be filched. Filching is similar to pilfering, swiping, lifting, and purloining — other words for taking what isn't yours. We've all probably filched at some point, but thieves make a profession out of filching.
Vocabulary lists containing filch
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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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.
He would filch it if I wasn’t around.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 4, 2020
Though China has often used computer hacking to filch secrets, this case relied on traditional espionage techniques, including the attempted recruitment of corporate insiders.
From Washington Post • Oct. 10, 2018
The cause of the new public relations crisis is the disclosure last week of two new ways to filch data from the microprocessors inside nearly all of the world’s computers.
From New York Times • Jan. 7, 2018
The window of opportunity is rapidly closing on them: Every new story idea the duo comes up with is already claimed by Shakespeare, a shameless plagiarist always eager to filch an idea from Nigel's notebook.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 10, 2017
He’d head up to Connecticut and filch Fred in the middle of the night.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
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.
