steal
Americanverb (used with object)
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steals,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stole,
past
-
stolen,
past participle
-
stealing
present participle
-
to take (the property of another or others) without permission or right, especially secretly or by force.
A pickpocket stole his watch.
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to appropriate (ideas, credit, words, etc.) without right or acknowledgment.
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to take, get, or win insidiously, surreptitiously, subtly, or by chance.
He stole my girlfriend.
-
to move, bring, convey, or put secretly or quietly; smuggle (usually followed by away, from, in, into, etc.).
They stole the bicycle into the bedroom to surprise the child.
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Baseball. (of a base runner) to gain (a base) without the help of a walk or batted ball, as by running to it during the delivery of a pitch.
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Games. to gain (a point, advantage, etc.) by strategy, chance, or luck.
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to gain or seize more than one's share of attention in, as by giving a superior performance.
The comedian stole the show.
verb (used without object)
-
steals,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stole,
past
-
stolen,
past participle
-
stealing
present participle
-
to commit or practice theft.
-
to move, go, or come secretly, quietly, or unobserved.
She stole out of the house at midnight.
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to pass, happen, etc., imperceptibly, gently, or gradually.
The years steal by.
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Baseball. (of a base runner) to advance a base without the help of a walk or batted ball.
noun
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steals
plural
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Informal. an act of stealing; theft.
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Informal. the thing stolen; booty.
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Informal. something acquired at a cost far below its real value; bargain.
This dress is a steal at $40.
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Baseball. the act of advancing a base by stealing.
idioms
verb
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to take (something) from someone, etc without permission or unlawfully, esp in a secret manner
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(tr) to obtain surreptitiously
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(tr) to appropriate (ideas, etc) without acknowledgment, as in plagiarism
-
to move or convey stealthily
they stole along the corridor
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(intr) to pass unnoticed
the hours stole by
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(tr) to win or gain by strategy or luck, as in various sports
to steal a few yards
-
to obtain an advantage over, esp by a secret or underhand measure
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to detract from the attention due to another by forestalling him
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to be looked upon as the most interesting, popular, etc, esp unexpectedly
noun
-
the act of stealing
-
something stolen or acquired easily or at little cost
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stealsimple
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stealssimple
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have stolenperfect
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has stolenperfect
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am stealingprogressive
-
are stealingprogressive
-
is stealingprogressive
-
have been stealingperfect progressive
-
has been stealingperfect progressive
Past
-
stolesimple
-
had stolenperfect
-
was stealingprogressive
-
were stealingprogressive
-
had been stealingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of steal
First recorded before 900; 1860–65 steal for def. 5; Middle English stelen, Old English stelan; cognate with German stehlen, Old Norse stela, Gothic stilan
Explanation
To steal is take something that isn't yours: thieves steal. But a bargain that's so good it's almost like you're getting away with robbery is also called a steal. Stealing is what thieves do: taking things from other people. A bank robber steals money. A mugger steals purses and wallets. People also use steal in other ways. If someone wastes your time, you might say they're stealing your time. A store having a sale might say, "Our prices are a steal!" In baseball, a runner can steal a base. When you see steal, think "take."
Vocabulary lists containing steal
Baseball: A Lexicon
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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:
"Cyberscam syndicates continue to steal billions of dollars from American victims," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in Thursday's statement.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
"I was stunned, shocked and heartbroken. They didn't steal anything though."
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
Imanuwela David was found guilty of theft on Monday, as well as conspiracy to commit housebreaking with intent to steal at Phala Phala farm in the Limpopo province in 2020.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
Thieves are using spoofed gift-card websites to steal logins and PINs, draining consumers’ balances and leading to uncomfortable conversations at checkout counters, the WSJ Leadership Institute’s Jennifer Williams reports.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
“Boss Man is Roho, isn’t he? He had someone steal the Msaidizi?”
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
"Friedreich ataxia is a devastating rare genetic disease that progressively steals a child's ability to walk, speak, play, and ultimately survive," she says.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026
Across a preliminary evening and three “days”—“Das Rheingold,” “Die Walküre,” “Siegfried” and “Götterdämmerung”—the dwarf Alberich renounces love, steals the Rhine’s gold and forges an all-powerful ring that Wotan, ruler of the gods, steals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
Even if someone steals or guesses your password, they can’t access your camera without an extra code sent to your phone or email, or supplied by an authentication app.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
Matisse Thybulle, another key defensive offseason addition, had two steals and made two threes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
“Noun: An extra shoe you keep in your pocket. In case someone steals one of yours while you’re asleep with your head under the mailbox.”
From "When You Reach Me" by Rebecca Stead
Hugo Keenan stole the headlines with his hat-trick, while Dan Sheehan, Sam Prendergast and Ronan Kelleher also crossed.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
“This is what they stole from us,” Musk captioned the computer-generated photo of his sci-fi fan fiction.
From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2026
Binance earlier said it held $5 billion of the $6.3 billion it was fronting in the same cryptocurrencies that hackers stole, and was purchasing the remaining $1.3 billion of cryptocurrency through market channels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
"Just the fact that he stole a Bugatti and especially this one told me that this guy has problems," Rimac said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
Inside were furs: a fox jacket, a mink stole, a floor-length ermine coat.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
OTW says it does not believe the user database, which holds usernames, email addresses and encrypted passwords, was stolen, but cannot rule it out.
From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2026
Cases of fraud in the UK have surged as criminals take to AI, with almost £1.3bn stolen by scammers in 2025.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
The anonymous online sleuth said the stolen funds had been routed through multiple accounts opened on crypto exchange platforms.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026
Binance said it has now replaced roughly 95% of the stolen assets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
One clairvoyant said the painting had been stolen by a birdman—a person with a neck like an ostrich and hair like feathers.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
We’re intruders, stealing glimpses of a private domestic drama not meant for our prying eyes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
In recent months, the two countries have traded accusations of stealing AI technologies and jeopardising security.
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026
That’s because stealing, begging or borrowing material in service of an artistic creation made by real people is enormously different from some corporation doing it to build a better Mechanical Turk.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
Gift cards have been an attractive target for thieves generally in recent years because stealing them from stores doesn’t tend to trigger security alarms, unlike boosting power tools or electronics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
They’re exiles who go around stealing Remarkable items and artifacts.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
