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:
Los Angeles police confirmed the attempted burglary at the home of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ son.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Following the burglary, Paul has joined forces with Compare the Market, which commissioned a licensed private investigator to examine the publicly available digital footprints of nine volunteers.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 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
In that footage, shattered glass, empty shelves, cracked computer screens and scattered debris can be seen in the wake of the burglary.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
“I think your best bet is to try to get the Lyles woman to drop the burglary charge,” she said.
From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin
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
Santa Monica in 2025 saw an overall decline of more than 12% in violent crime and burglaries, compared to 2024, according to the department’s annual report, released in March.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 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
Investigating the burglaries, Locard found prints—but they didn’t look like any prints he’d seen before.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
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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.
