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steal
[ steel ]
/ stil /
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verb (used with object), stole, sto·len, steal·ing.
verb (used without object), stole, sto·len, steal·ing.
noun
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Idioms about steal
steal someone's thunder, to appropriate or use another's idea, plan, words, etc.
Origin of steal
First recorded before 900; 1860–65 for def. 5; Middle English stelen, Old English stelan; cognate with German stehlen, Old Norse stela, Gothic stilan
historical usage of steal
Steal and its kindred words come from the Germanic root stel- “to rob, steal” (as in Gothic stilan, Old English, Old Frisian, Old High German stelan, German stehlen ); the root has no certain relatives outside Germanic.
The idea of secrecy and concealment is a natural association, as in the words derivative of stel-, such as the noun stealth (Middle English stelthe, stelth, from Germanic stēlithō ), and the verb stalk “to follow or observe secretly or cautiously.” One of the current senses of stalk “to follow or harass someone obsessively over a period of time” dates from the early 1980s.
The idea of secrecy and concealment is a natural association, as in the words derivative of stel-, such as the noun stealth (Middle English stelthe, stelth, from Germanic stēlithō ), and the verb stalk “to follow or observe secretly or cautiously.” One of the current senses of stalk “to follow or harass someone obsessively over a period of time” dates from the early 1980s.
OTHER WORDS FROM steal
steal·a·ble, adjectivestealer, nounnon·steal·a·ble, adjectiveoutsteal, verb (used with object), out·stole, out·sto·len, out·steal·ing.Words nearby steal
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use steal in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for steal
steal
/ (stiːl) /
verb steals, stealing, stole or stolen
noun informal
the act of stealing
something stolen or acquired easily or at little cost
Word Origin for steal
Old English stelan; related to Old Frisian, Old Norse stela Gothic stilan, German stehlen
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
Medical definitions for steal
steal
[ stēl ]
n.
The diversion of blood flow from its normal course.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.