burglary
Americannoun
-
burglaries
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of burglary
1150–1200; Middle English < Anglo-French burglarie; see burglar, -y 3
Explanation
A burglary is committed when a person breaks into a building with the intent of committing a crime, especially if the crime is to steal valuable items. What's the difference between burglary and robbery? In a burglary, the criminal has to enter the building or structure illegally (breaking and entering), and the victim of the theft is unlikely to have contact with the burglar — or to even know about the theft until after the burglar is gone. In a robbery, however, a victim has to be present, and the criminal commits the crime by using violence or threatening the victim with violence.
Vocabulary lists containing burglary
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Crime and Punishment
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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.
See Examples For:
Wade was found guilty of commercial burglary and auto theft over a decade ago after he stole Fieri’s Lamborghini from a British Motors in San Francisco, where the car was being repaired.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Both Brand and Ibrahim Bulut, a museum security expert from a Belgian security consulting firm, believe many thefts that followed the Louvre burglary are copycats.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
The last time the justices heard a case filed by a petitioner without a lawyer was in 2021, when the court took an appeal from William Wooden, a prisoner challenging burglary convictions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
A statement continued: "The conduct relates to an allegation the individual failed to identify and pursue a line of enquiry relating to an attempted burglary reported in April 2025."
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
They’re worried About lawns And new tires, The burglary Of a friend’s house.
From "Neighborhood Odes" by Gary Soto
He said 50% of the discharges the force dealt with were from shotguns which had been owned lawfully, but stolen in burglaries and ended up in criminal hands.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
The reports range from brazen burglaries to visitors nervous about a bear wandering by.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Dallas Cowboys player Linval Joseph and Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis were also targeted in different burglaries.
From BBC ● May 25, 2026
So far this year, nearly 43% fewer burglaries and break-ins have been reported to the LAPD’s Valley Bureau compared to the same time period last year, according to Police Department statistics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2026
“Someone called about a suspected burglar. There have been a lot of burglaries in this neighborhood.”
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
