thief
a person who steals, especially secretly or without open force; one guilty of theft or larceny.
Origin of thief
1synonym study For thief
Other words for thief
Other words from thief
- un·der·thief, noun, plural un·der·thieves.
Words that may be confused with thief
- robber, thief (see synonym study at the current entry)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use thief in a sentence
The thieves pistol-whipped and tied up the couple, and following Dugdale’s instructions, pilfered valuable pictures.
‘The Woman Who Stole Vermeer’ revisits the strange tale of a British heiress who became a notorious art thief | Katharine Weber | November 20, 2020 | Washington PostPossibly, in true no-honor-among-thieves fashion, El Mencho.
When a traditional movie is released in theaters, thieves struggle to obtain high-quality recordings of it, often resorting to bootlegging with a hidden camcorder.
Movie piracy is on the rise as studios bypass theatrical releases | radmarya | October 6, 2020 | FortuneThe Ring Car Cam security camera, which costs $200, is similar to the Ring Car Alarm but it comes with a video camera so people can see live video feeds, in case they want to scan for thieves while not away from their cars.
Amazon debuted a long list of products today. Here are 3 standouts | jonathanvanian2015 | September 24, 2020 | FortuneThe hope was that if thieves could see the Club, they wouldn’t bother to break your window in the first place.
When Your Safety Becomes My Danger (Ep. 432) | Stephen J. Dubner | September 24, 2020 | Freakonomics
The Oscar-winning actress put nude photo thieves in their place with one perfect statement.
Jennifer Lawrence’s Righteous Fury Says Everything We Wanted to Say | Kevin O’Keeffe | December 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTLast month I turned and faced their surreptitious security: “Catch any thieves today?”
‘Why Have I Lost Control?’: Cory Booker in ’92 on Rodney King Echoes Ferguson | Cory Booker | November 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe suspects that he saw, somehow, what the thieves saw, tapping into their perception of the back of the house.
Knocking on Heaven's Door: True Stories of Unexplained, Uncanny Experiences at the Hour of Death | Patricia Pearson | August 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTypically most women carry their concealed firearms in their purses, the main target of thieves.
To the musicians, the Napster co-founders were outright thieves, providing an avenue to steal music without paying a dime for it.
15 Years After Napster: How the Music Service Changed the Industry | Alex Suskind | June 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTI'd admire to see him cavorting around on the pinnacles after horse-thieves or whisky-runners or a bunch of bad Indians.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairThy princes are faithless, companions of thieves: they all love bribes, they run after rewards.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | VariousSo I was left on the sand-bar with two dead thieves, and two who should have been dead, and a little knot of horses for company.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairI keep a good blunderbuss loaded over the door, an' thieves would na' find it an easy job to get in through these iron bars.
The World Before Them | Susanna MoodieThus an unnecessary display of money or valuables, or leaving them where they would tempt thieves, may be negligence.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney Bolles
British Dictionary definitions for thief
/ (θiːf) /
a person who steals something from another
criminal law a person who commits theft
Origin of thief
1Derived forms of thief
- thievish, adjective
- thievishly, adverb
- thievishness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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