larceny
Americannoun
-
larcenies
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of larceny
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English larceni, from Anglo-French larcin “theft,” from Latin latrōcinium “robbery” (equivalent to latrōcin(ārī) “to rob,” originally “serve as mercenary soldier” (derivative of latrō “hired soldier, robber”) + -ium -ium ) + -y 3
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How does larceny compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Larceny is the legal term for stealing. Grand larceny is when you take something worth a lot of money, petty larceny when the stolen item is worth relatively little. Larceny is used when talking about stealing someone's property in regards to the law. If you illegally download music or plagiarize a text, that may be theft, but it is not larceny because there was no physical property involved. If you take a friend's yoyo and don't give it back, it's stealing — unless your friend calls the police and has you arrested on charges of larceny.
Vocabulary lists containing larceny
The Sun Is Also a Star
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A Long Way from Chicago
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Oliver Twist
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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:
These kids had fancy snacks, posters and portable speakers, while my kid was in a gray cell block staring at four concrete walls like she was about to do hard time for grand larceny.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Hall also described the intellectual property theft of books used to train AI models as "creative larceny at scale".
From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2026
But in late September, Saks said its security officials got a tip that triggered an investigation, resulting in Kwatra’s termination and charges of fraud and larceny filed against him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026
Brentford were superior in every aspect, and had Liverpool somehow rescued a point it would have been grand larceny.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2025
“And talkin’ about this morning,” the sheriff said, his face shading purple even in the darkness, “you stole my boat. That’s what we call larceny, Mrs. Dowdel. You could go up for that.”
From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
Property crime also increased in 2022, with burglaries up 19%, larcenies 21%, vehicle thefts 45% and carjackings 21%, according to police data.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 10, 2023
Crime on the subway has jumped in recent months, with 94 grand larcenies in the transit system in September, compared to 64 in August and 55 in July, according to FOX 5 New York.
From Fox News ● Nov. 21, 2021
Aggravated assaults are up this year, while larcenies and robberies are down.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 15, 2021
Even with crime rates falling sharply, there were still more than 68,000 robberies, burglaries and larcenies in New York City last year.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 10, 2019
On remand for numerous larcenies: Mulch Diggums, the kleptomaniac dwarf.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
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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.
