steal
Americanverb (used with object)
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steals,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stole,
past
-
stolen,
past participle
-
stealing
present participle
-
to take (the property of another or others) without permission or right, especially secretly or by force.
A pickpocket stole his watch.
-
to appropriate (ideas, credit, words, etc.) without right or acknowledgment.
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to take, get, or win insidiously, surreptitiously, subtly, or by chance.
He stole my girlfriend.
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to move, bring, convey, or put secretly or quietly; smuggle (usually followed by away, from, in, into, etc.).
They stole the bicycle into the bedroom to surprise the child.
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Baseball. (of a base runner) to gain (a base) without the help of a walk or batted ball, as by running to it during the delivery of a pitch.
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Games. to gain (a point, advantage, etc.) by strategy, chance, or luck.
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to gain or seize more than one's share of attention in, as by giving a superior performance.
The comedian stole the show.
verb (used without object)
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steals,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stole,
past
-
stolen,
past participle
-
stealing
present participle
-
to commit or practice theft.
-
to move, go, or come secretly, quietly, or unobserved.
She stole out of the house at midnight.
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to pass, happen, etc., imperceptibly, gently, or gradually.
The years steal by.
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Baseball. (of a base runner) to advance a base without the help of a walk or batted ball.
noun
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steals
plural
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Informal. an act of stealing; theft.
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Informal. the thing stolen; booty.
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Informal. something acquired at a cost far below its real value; bargain.
This dress is a steal at $40.
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Baseball. the act of advancing a base by stealing.
idioms
verb
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to take (something) from someone, etc without permission or unlawfully, esp in a secret manner
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(tr) to obtain surreptitiously
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(tr) to appropriate (ideas, etc) without acknowledgment, as in plagiarism
-
to move or convey stealthily
they stole along the corridor
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(intr) to pass unnoticed
the hours stole by
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(tr) to win or gain by strategy or luck, as in various sports
to steal a few yards
-
to obtain an advantage over, esp by a secret or underhand measure
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to detract from the attention due to another by forestalling him
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to be looked upon as the most interesting, popular, etc, esp unexpectedly
noun
-
the act of stealing
-
something stolen or acquired easily or at little cost
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stealsimple
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stealssimple
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have stolenperfect
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has stolenperfect
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am stealingprogressive
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are stealingprogressive
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is stealingprogressive
-
have been stealingperfect progressive
-
has been stealingperfect progressive
Past
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stolesimple
-
had stolenperfect
-
was stealingprogressive
-
were stealingprogressive
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had been stealingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of steal
First recorded before 900; 1860–65 steal for def. 5; Middle English stelen, Old English stelan; cognate with German stehlen, Old Norse stela, Gothic stilan
Explanation
To steal is take something that isn't yours: thieves steal. But a bargain that's so good it's almost like you're getting away with robbery is also called a steal. Stealing is what thieves do: taking things from other people. A bank robber steals money. A mugger steals purses and wallets. People also use steal in other ways. If someone wastes your time, you might say they're stealing your time. A store having a sale might say, "Our prices are a steal!" In baseball, a runner can steal a base. When you see steal, think "take."
Vocabulary lists containing steal
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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:
"Cyberscam syndicates continue to steal billions of dollars from American victims," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in Thursday's statement.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
Froliana Joseph, a cleaner at the property, was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit housebreaking with intent to steal.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
Imanuwela David was found guilty of theft on Monday, as well as conspiracy to commit housebreaking with intent to steal at Phala Phala farm in the Limpopo province in 2020.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
He considers fraud a major issue including people posing as community college students to steal financial aid.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
“You’re not going anywhere. First you steal my husband’s boat; now you’re trying to make off with something that’s his.”
From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook
Even if someone steals or guesses your password, they can’t access your camera without an extra code sent to your phone or email, or supplied by an authentication app.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
Nobody wants a system that goes rogue, deceives users, steals data or acts maliciously.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
“His physical abilities were flooring,” said Tracy, who managed Pride during his best minor-league season, when he hit .356 with 15 homers and 21 steals in 50 games for Harrisburg.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
Clark finished just shy of a double-double with 10 points, nine assists, three rebounds and two steals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
He crawls up swordsmen’s shirts, steals arrows from archers’ backs, and straight-up trips people.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
“This is what they stole from us,” Musk captioned the computer-generated photo of his sci-fi fan fiction.
From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2026
The attack on Binance has been attributed to TraderTraitor, a North Korean cybercrime group also known as the Lazarus Group, which stole a then-record $1.5bn from crypto exchange Bybit in 2025.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
"Just the fact that he stole a Bugatti and especially this one told me that this guy has problems," Rimac said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
The probe centers on whether Alfozan stole OpenAI information to offer it to the Saudi government, though he may not have been recruited to do so.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026
“Darryl. Maybe he didn’t get that cash from some mystery lady after all. Maybe he stole it himself!”
From "Trouble at the Arcade (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #1)" by Franklin W. Dixon
OTW says it does not believe the user database, which holds usernames, email addresses and encrypted passwords, was stolen, but cannot rule it out.
From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2026
The anonymous online sleuth said the stolen funds had been routed through multiple accounts opened on crypto exchange platforms.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026
The company has repeatedly said it would cover all of the losses linked to the attack and that it has so far covered around 95% of the assets stolen in the breach.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
More than half of the funds stolen during the Binance hack can’t be frozen, giving North Korea’s cybercriminals time to launder them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
Tears flow from my eyes as if they were tugged out and stolen from me like water from a faucet.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
In the film, she says, “In reality, the only thing I’m really guilty of is being gullible and trusting my husband,” adding she did not know the stealing was happening until “after the fact.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
In recent months, the two countries have traded accusations of stealing AI technologies and jeopardising security.
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026
That’s because stealing, begging or borrowing material in service of an artistic creation made by real people is enormously different from some corporation doing it to build a better Mechanical Turk.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
"The goal is to keep the ghost student in school as long as possible. Semester after semester after semester stealing money from the taxpayers," McDonald said.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
From Duane’s perspective, it was as if a giant hand was thrusting out of the sky and stealing bits of the world he knew and cherished.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
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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.
