steal
Americanverb (used with object)
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steals,
present (3rd person singular)
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stole,
past
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stolen,
past participle
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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.
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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)
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steals,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stole,
past
-
stolen,
past participle
-
stealing
present participle
-
to commit or practice theft.
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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
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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
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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
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the act of stealing
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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
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are stealingprogressive
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is stealingprogressive
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have been stealingperfect progressive
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has been stealingperfect progressive
Past
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stolesimple
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had stolenperfect
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was stealingprogressive
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were stealingprogressive
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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:
But Schusser said its new venture was not trying to steal customers.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
“My expectation is that Hyeseong will be here during the off week and potentially be a conversation for the postseason because he has the ability to run, play defense, and steal a base,” Roberts said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
Just last year, for instance, the Cincinnati Reds managed to steal a wild-card spot with a record of 83-79, only to be immediately trounced by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
But U.S. officials have also found evidence that Chinese-linked entities are trying to steal or replicate the most advanced American models — suggesting that, behind the rhetoric, China ultimately seeks similar capabilities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
“And, perhaps, why someone would try to steal it.”
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
She is third all-time in rebounds with 3,571 and third in steals with 716.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
"The great Guinness robbery" is the Daily Star's top story, headlining on "truck gang steals 70k pints".
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Brochant led the team with 24 points and five steals, making it difficult for the Sparks to rally.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
James averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists, 6.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals a game for the Lakers last season and said he was considering retirement strongly when the campaign concluded.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
“Well, her name’s not really Boots, it’s Margaret, but we call her Boots because in the winter she steals everybody’s boots and runs around in them and because of this musician my dad likes.”
From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins
Floyd Samba's scintillating first-team debut not only stole the show at Etihad Stadium on Thursday but also snatched all the headlines away from another high-profile teenager in Manchester.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
When thieves broke into a French museum earlier this week and stole four paintings by the impressionist artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir, worth millions of euros, not everyone was surprised.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
“It was systematic. They entered the depots and stole everything they could,” said Umaima Abdul-Rahman Al-Sanusi, one of the museum’s curators, as her eyes scanned a shattered display case.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Yet despite the star-studded cast—and Kelce’s stylish ensembles—it was his fluffy four-legged companion that ultimately stole the show.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026
“Question two: Everyone knows that Nansi stole Nyame’s stories, but what was the reason?”
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Police said the gun had been reported stolen from a car in Kansas City, Mo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
But the Agriculture Department said the federal government replaced $360 million in benefits stolen from 754,000 households between October 2022 and December 2024, before Congress withdrew that authority.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Authorities had also recovered a mixture of DNA from more than one person on the stolen guns themselves.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Earlier on Wednesday, it emerged that copies of Earl Spencer's unreleased book had been stolen from a truck in the Netherlands.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
“What do you mean? I haven’t stolen anything!”
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Some fraud experts say the U.S. should scrap EBT cards and move to mobile wallet payments, given growing bot-driven crime and other means of stealing chip-card data.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
The BBC has been given special access to a police unit that says it has been disrupting organised crime gangs responsible for stealing millions of pounds worth of goods from shops across the UK.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
The article had pictures of Durham Prison, revealing that "the men who were found guilty of stealing a fortune in mailbags spend their week stitching them for nine shillings".
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
She’s also aware that some people are stealing and appropriating, using a coolness that they didn’t create as a costume of convenience.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Because of this theory, stealing art became different from other sorts of stealing.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
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.
