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petty larceny

American  

noun

Law.
  1. larceny in which the value of the goods taken is below a certain legally specified amount.


petty larceny British  

noun

  1. a variant spelling of petit larceny

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of petty larceny

First recorded in 1810–20

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:

"From a landlord’s perspective, from storeowner’s perspective, we’re terrified of this, his policies and what not. Armed robbery of a store is now a petty larceny? What insanity is this?" he said.

From Fox News Feb. 14, 2022

She pleaded no contest May 18 to petty larceny and was released after serving 81 days in jail.

From Seattle Times Jul. 13, 2021

There was too much at stake, namely personal liberty, to rule otherwise—even for Gideon, who was charged with breaking and entering with intent to commit petty larceny.

From Slate Jul. 8, 2020

He said there also have been incidents of police “charge stacking,” or arresting people for a crime such as petty larceny and then adding a second count for violating a stay-at-home order.

From Washington Post May 10, 2020

Red Tie shifts his attention back to the petty larceny.

From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon

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