cat burglar

American  

noun

1. a burglar who breaks into buildings by climbing through upstairs windows, across roofs, etc., especially with great stealth and agility.

---

cat burglar British  

noun

1. a burglar who enters buildings by climbing through upper windows, skylights, etc

---

Etymology

Origin of cat burglar

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

A prolific cat burglar has been caught red handed after stealing anything she can get her paws on.

From BBC • Sep. 8, 2023

“Death Prefers Blondes” follows a teenage glitteratus, Margo Manning, who moonlights as a cat burglar alongside a team of fabulous young drag queens.

From New York Times • Feb. 17, 2023

They are worse than the solitary crooks who occasionally slink past our homes because they are ubiquitous, invisible and more elusive than even the wiliest cat burglar.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 20, 2022

A cat burglar adversary to Batman, the role has shifted over the years to love interest and love interest/adversary.

From Salon • Apr. 1, 2022

Mr. Lemoncello had changed out of his judge’s costume into some kind of cat burglar outfit—black pants, ribbed black turtleneck, and sporty black beret.

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein