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pickpocket

[pik-pok-it]
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noun
  1. a person who steals money, wallets, etc., from the pockets of people, as in crowded public places.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to steal (a wallet, money, etc.) in the manner of a pickpocket.
  2. to steal from (a person) in the manner of a pickpocket.
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Origin of pickpocket

First recorded in 1585–95; pick1 + pocket
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

thief, dipper, finger, cutpurse

Examples from the Web for pickpocket

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Her one relation was a brother of high standing as a pickpocket.

    Within the Law

    Marvin Dana

  • When there is no more to be got out of them, he turns burglar or pickpocket, or robs a temple.

  • More likely because the old chap has no watch and chain for the pickpocket to steal.

  • In the grandest scale he is called a financier; in the meanest, a pickpocket.

  • "Crowd chasing a pickpocket, I imagine," said Trencher indifferently.

    From Place to Place

    Irvin S. Cobb

British Dictionary definitions for pickpocket

pickpocket

noun
  1. a person who steals from the pockets or handbags of others in public places
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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

Word Origin and History for pickpocket

n.

also pick-pocket, 1590s, from pick (v.) + pocket (n.). Earlier was pick-purse (late 14c.). As a verb from 1670s.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper