burgle
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
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.
His Google search on Gloria Burgle yields nothing and a second search for the Eden Valley Police Department yields a public library, which leads him to conclude that Gloria is a threat that’s easily squashed.
From New York Times • May 24, 2017
Gloria Burgle travels from Eden Valley to Los Angeles to investigate her dead stepfather’s past and comes away with no pertinent information on the case.
From New York Times • May 3, 2017
We watch as sort-of, kind-of local Police Chief Gloria Burgle, played by Carrie Coon, ventures to Los Angeles to investigate her deceased stepdad’s mysterious past as sci-fi author “Thaddeus Mobley.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2017
Carrie Coon also stars as Gloria Burgle, who journeys to Los Angeles in Episode 3 to poke into her stepdad’s mysterious past as “Thaddeus Mobley.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2017
She plays Gloria Burgle, the earnest Eden Valley police chief and newly divorced mother of a 10-year-old son.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 14, 2017
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.
