pilfer
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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pilfers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pilfered,
past participle, past
-
pilfering
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
pilfersimple
-
pilferssimple
-
have pilferedperfect
-
has pilferedperfect
-
am pilferingprogressive
-
are pilferingprogressive
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is pilferingprogressive
-
have been pilferingperfect progressive
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has been pilferingperfect progressive
Past
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pilferedsimple
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had pilferedperfect
-
was pilferingprogressive
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were pilferingprogressive
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had been pilferingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pilfer
1540–50; v. use of late Middle English pilfre booty < Middle French pelfre. See pelf
Explanation
To pilfer is to steal something, typically of small value. Minor thefts, like taking a roll of toilet paper out of a public bathroom or napkins from the Early Bird Buffet are what your grandfather, for example, might pilfer. The verb pilfer comes from the Old French noun pelfre, meaning “booty,” or “spoils.” Now pilfer is used when talking about the act of stealing loot: you may find that you have to really restrain yourself from the desire to pilfer your friend’s new fur-lined gloves, even though you're pretty sure she pilfered your headphones. Robin Hood was able to pilfer from the rich to give to the poor.
Vocabulary lists containing pilfer
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This Week in Pop Culture: August 10–16, 2019
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A Long Way from Chicago
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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:
Harvey initially came under investigation in early 2024 and authorities charge that he continued to pilfer shoes even after he knew that police were onto him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
There's never a need to pilfer through your cabinets, to be knocked over in a cascade of plastic storage containers à la those decades old infomercials, or to haphazardly use a cumbersome espresso maker.
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2022
Meta said it would be sharing tips with potential victims on how they can avoid being “re-compromised” by learning how to better spot problematic apps that pilfer credentials, whether for Facebook or other accounts.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 7, 2022
Breon Peace, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said the scheme to pilfer the fund, known as 1MDB, was “massive in its scale” and “brazen in its execution.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 8, 2022
I head toward the kitchen to see what I can pilfer before dinner.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Website publishers, particularly media outlets, say that AI pilfers their content without compensation to feed its models.
From Barron's ● Jan. 28, 2026
Locals in the town of Munnar, near Padayappa's habitat, call him a "gentle giant" who has never hurt anyone, even though he occasionally pilfers food from their homes and farms at night.
From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2023
Everybody pilfers their elders' closets at some point; why shouldn't Netflix raid Fox's?
From Salon ● Jan. 19, 2023
Hsiao-kang, the son of a taxi driver, swats cockroaches instead of doing his math homework; Ah-tze, a small-time thief, pilfers coins out of phone booths.
From New York Times ● Sep. 21, 2020
He had kept it hidden--she had not known where--he had taken some of it himself--pilfered some of it like a boy pilfers sugar--he had died of it.
From Absolution by Clara Viebig
Add in recent cemetery thefts in Nebraska, North Dakota, New Mexico, Washington: Across the nation, American graveyards are being pilfered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026
It is believed Gordon Stewart Wimbush pilfered the plate while he was studying at Gonville & Caius College, which he joined in 1908.
From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2025
Nick Frost pilfered two Lions line-outs as they turned the screw.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2025
The merchants, many of whom are based in L.A., have been locked in a yearslong legal battle with Brink’s over the value of their pilfered goods.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2025
One government study estimated that before 1925 guardians had pilfered at least $8 million directly from the restricted accounts of their Osage wards.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
What’s more, China has a history of pilfering technology to get ahead: In 2025, one in five European companies in China said that Chinese firms had stolen technology.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
Yes, using the DOJ’s website, users are pilfering software and documents from the Epstein files.
From Slate ● Feb. 3, 2026
He probably feels more awful about his after-hours pilfering than you do.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 24, 2025
Later, as the team fell into arrears on pool rent payments, we learned that Stovall was accused of pilfering funds.
From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2024
Between meals, if his mother did not stand guard, he was constantly pilfering at the wretched store of food on the shelf.
From "1984" by George Orwell
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
