pickpocket

American  

[pik-pok-it] / ˈpɪkˌpɒk ɪt /

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.

pickpocket British  

/ ˈpɪkˌpɒkɪt /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of pickpocket

First recorded in 1585–95; pick ¹ + pocket

Explanation

A pickpocket is a criminal who steals things from people's pockets or bags. Your grandmother might warn you to be on the lookout for pickpockets when you travel to Paris. Pickpockets take advantage of crowded situations to slide wallets, phones, and cash out of victims' pockets, and when they do this, you can say that they pickpocket. Probably the most famous literary pickpocket is Charles Dickens' character The Artful Dodger, from "Oliver Twist." Before pickpocket was coined, around 1590, they were called pick-purses, for obvious reasons.

Example Sentences

For 23-year-old Lucas Leach, who plays pickpocket Gabriel, returning to school to film Crookhaven was a cathartic experience.

From BBC • Mar. 21, 2026

And so, I always equate it to a pickpocket.

From Salon • Jun. 18, 2025

In 2019, The Economist reported that the group was responsible for a third of all pickpocket arrests made in Venice.

From New York Times • Jul. 25, 2023

She passes like a ponytailed Pistol Pete Maravich and she has the sticky fingers of a subway pickpocket.

From Washington Post • Mar. 29, 2023

In another sense, the tragedy of the once master pickpocket made him, for those brother old-timer hustlers, a “there but for the grace of God” symbol.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Related Words

• thief