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steal
[ steel ]
verb (used with object)
- to take (the property of another or others) without permission or right, especially secretly or by force:
A pickpocket stole his watch.
- to appropriate (ideas, credit, words, etc.) without right or acknowledgment.
- 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.
- 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.
- Games. to gain (a point, advantage, etc.) by strategy, chance, or luck.
- 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)
- to commit or practice theft.
- to move, go, or come secretly, quietly, or unobserved:
She stole out of the house at midnight.
- to pass, happen, etc., imperceptibly, gently, or gradually:
The years steal by.
- Baseball. (of a base runner) to advance a base without the help of a walk or batted ball.
noun
- Informal. an act of stealing; theft.
- Informal. the thing stolen; booty.
- Informal. something acquired at a cost far below its real value; bargain:
This dress is a steal at $40.
- Baseball. the act of advancing a base by stealing.
steal
/ stiːl /
verb
- to take (something) from someone, etc without permission or unlawfully, esp in a secret manner
- tr to obtain surreptitiously
- tr to appropriate (ideas, etc) without acknowledgment, as in plagiarism
- to move or convey stealthily
they stole along the corridor
- intr to pass unnoticed
the hours stole by
- tr to win or gain by strategy or luck, as in various sports
to steal a few yards
- steal a march onto obtain an advantage over, esp by a secret or underhand measure
- steal someone's thunderto detract from the attention due to another by forestalling him
- steal the showto 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 Words From
- steala·ble adjective
- stealer noun
- non·steala·ble adjective
- outsteal verb (used with object) outstole outstolen outstealing
Word History and Origins
Origin of steal1
Word History and Origins
Origin of steal1
Idioms and Phrases
- steal someone's thunder, to appropriate or use another's idea, plan, words, etc.
Example Sentences
Senators heard him exhort his supporters in combat terms that “the election was stolen,” to “stop the steal” and “to fight like hell.”
A 6-0 run with a drop-step layup from Pickett and a steal and dunk from Bile pushed the lead back up to 67-57, and every time Creighton got within true striking distance, Georgetown answered with a defensive stop and basket on the other end.
Well, I saw the time, score, just tried to get a quick steal .
In his NBA debut last December, he put his defensive skills to work on a game-saving steal against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
In retrospect, the deal looks like a steal as WhatsApp has become a go-to tool for billions and, more recently, as Facebook lays plans to make it the cornerstone of an e-commerce empire.
In “Steal This Episode,” the filmmaker denounces Homer Simpson as an “enemy of art.”
About how much did the group allegedly steal from Mosul banks?
When they steal things, they want to get all the bonus points.
Watch your back Liam Neeson, here comes Kevin Costner to steal your older-leading-man thunder!
Murderers tweet in Mexico; a history of Kansas City and did Picasso try to steal the Mona Lisa?
That you did not steal from her house by a secret passage, on the night of the destruction of the opera-house?
"I told them there was not an Indian in this village would steal cattle," said Ramona, indignantly.
The bank did not employ him to steal, but to perform the ordinary banking duties.
She was thinking she could steal out to the evening service; it might not be so much noticed then, her being alone.
Thus one cannot steal from the other; but either is criminally liable for an assault committed on the other.
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Definitions 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.
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