burgle
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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.
“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
The men, from Cambridgeshire, Essex, Kent, London, the West Midlands and Northern Ireland, were convicted of conspiracy to burgle.
From BBC • Feb. 29, 2016
Ford’s conversion took England to within five points and they had two minutes to burgle a victory.
From The Guardian • Aug. 22, 2015
On Tuesday, more than 200 officers raided 12 addresses in north London and southeast England on Tuesday, arresting seven men, all British and aged over 48, on suspicion of conspiracy to burgle.
From Reuters • May 19, 2015
Careful research showed that the burglar had been disturbed before he had had opportunity to burgle.
From The Card, a Story of Adventure in the Five Towns by Bennett, Arnold
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.
