burgle
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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burgles,
present (3rd person singular)
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burgled,
past participle, past
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burgling
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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burglesimple
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burglessimple
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have burgledperfect
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has burgledperfect
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am burglingprogressive
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are burglingprogressive
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is burglingprogressive
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have been burglingperfect progressive
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has been burglingperfect progressive
Past
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burgledsimple
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had burgledperfect
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was burglingprogressive
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were burglingprogressive
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had been burglingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of burgle
First recorded in 1870–75; back formation from burglar
Explanation
When you burgle, you steal something from inside a house or a building. A computer thief might burgle several laptops after sneaking into a school at night. It's common to use to verb burgle in Britain, while in the United States people are more likely to say burglarize. Both words basically means "to steal from inside a building." If you burgle and are caught, the crime you'll be charged with is called "burglary." Burgle has been in use since the 1860s, when it was a jokey, colloquial word based on burglar, with its Latin root of burgare, "to break open."
Vocabulary lists containing burgle
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:
Museums are vulnerable and easy to burgle, Brand says, compared to well-secured jewellery shops and banks - which these days hold less cash.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
The suspect says he did not burgle Sarah.
From BBC ● Jan. 8, 2024
“You make it as hard as possible for burglars in hopes that they look for some other house to burgle, but it’s impossible to ever completely secure your house.”
From Washington Post ● Apr. 9, 2019
Ford’s conversion took England to within five points and they had two minutes to burgle a victory.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 22, 2015
“Yes,” I chimed in, joyously, “only, we are going to burgle out, instead of breaking in;” and we then both had a hearty chuckle at this little joke.
From On Board the Esmeralda Martin Leigh's Log - A Sea Story by William Heysham Overend
They speak a language that burgles and rains from their mouths like water through a pipe.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Here in America, when a man burgles your residence, you go and confide in a detective, who keeps your secret and gets another detective to help him.
From Remarks by Bill Nye
Every burglar who burgles in really humorous attitudes will burgle as much as he likes.
From All Things Considered by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton
Once upon a time in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino’s mansion was nearly burgled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
Against Ireland, England had 52% possession, did almost half as much kicking as their opponents -18 in open play to Ireland's 31 - but were burgled at the breakdown repeatedly, conceding 14 turnovers.
From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2026
Moments before the lunch interval Markram burgled the wicket of Hazlewood when the Aussie number 11 slapped a long hop to Keshav Maharaj at cover and was dismissed for 17.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2025
Security company GardaWorld, whose Sylmar facility was burgled on Easter, has become a major player in cash logistics, an opaque — and growing — field.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2024
Before me, Lelia had come off a string of men who made her feel steadily sorry and confused and burgled.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
Manchester City winger Jack Grealish says he is "devastated" after the "traumatic experience" of thieves burgling his home while he was playing.
From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2023
The burgling of the psychiatrist’s office has been misunderstood in many accounts of Ellsberg’s life.
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2023
Co-defendant O'Shay Swan, 42, from Winson Green Road, Birmingham, denies burgling Mr Varlow's property between 10 and 13 November and committing fraud in relation to the use of a bank card on 12 November.
From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2022
But, she says, “I’m not using my garden and the wood beyond my cottage as a sort of green Tesco, burgling myself some green serotonin and dopamine. It’s much more of a two-way relationship.”
From The Guardian ● Mar. 14, 2020
But I don't cotton to it myself," he added quickly, "not the burgling, I don't.
From Harding's luck by H. R. (Harold Robert) Millar
Definitions 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.
