burglary

[bur-gluh-ree]

noun

Criminal Law.

plural

burglaries 

1. the felony of breaking into and entering the house of another at night with intent to steal, extended by statute to cover the breaking into and entering of any of various buildings, by night or day.

burglary

/ bɜːˈɡlɛərɪəs, ˈbɜːɡlərɪ /

noun

1. English criminal law the crime of either entering a building as a trespasser with the intention of committing theft, rape, grievous bodily harm, or damage, or, having entered as a trespasser, of committing one or more of these offences

Other Word Forms

• antiburglary adjective
• burglarious adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of burglary¹

1150–1200; Middle English < Anglo-French burglarie; burglar, -y ³

Example Sentences

An investigation report from North Wales Police later concluded the alleged burglary victim had "lied to police" and "it now appears that said property was never stolen in the first place".

Read more on BBC

“The searches that took place during the evening and night did not enable us to recover the stolen goods from this burglary,” she said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Oakland police said the burglary took place just before 3:30 a.m. on Oct.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Morgan had been serving a life sentence since 2002 for robbery, burglary and possessing a gun as a felon, a third strike conviction, prison officials said in the statement.

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Several vehicles used appeared to have been taken from South Los Angeles neighborhoods hours before the burglaries, and some vehicles that picked up the suspects were seen in multiple crime scenes.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• break in 
• crime 
• heist 
• larceny 
• robbery 
• theft