theft
Americannoun
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the act of stealing; the wrongful taking and carrying away of the personal goods or property of another; larceny.
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an instance of this.
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Archaic. something stolen.
noun
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criminal law the dishonest taking of property belonging to another person with the intention of depriving the owner permanently of its possession
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rare something stolen
Usage
What does theft mean? Theft is the act of stealing. An instance of stealing can also be called a theft. A person who commits theft is called a thief. The word especially refers to a person who steals in secret and without using force or violence. In general, intentionally taking something that doesn’t belong to you is theft. The word most commonly refers to the stealing of money or physical property, but theft can involve the stealing of other things, such as personal information (which is called identity theft). The word theft often refers to a case in which a thief steals something without anyone noticing, at least not when the theft is taking place. In contrast, a case in which a person who steals by using force, violence, or threats of force or violence would more likely be called a robbery. Still, the word theft is used generally to refer to any case of something being stolen. In this way, a robbery is a kind of theft. Most instances of theft are crimes, but the word can be used to refer to an instance of stealing that wouldn’t get a person arrested. You might call it theft when your sibling steals a cookie from your plate, for example. A legal term for some kinds of theft is larceny. The word thievery can mean the same thing as theft, but it typically refers to the practice of stealing—thieves lead a life of thievery. Example: I don’t care that he only stole a few things—it’s still theft.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of theft
before 900; Middle English; Old English thēfth, thēofth; see thief, -th 1; cognate with Old Norse thȳfth, obsolete Dutch diefte
Compare meaning
How does theft compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Theft is the act of stealing something. If you've ever taken your sister's sweater without asking her first, then she's right: that's an instance of theft! The word theft refers to taking something from someone else without getting permission. Shoplifting is a form of theft, as is embezzling a million dollars from your business partner's Swiss bank account. In the United States, petty theft is the act of stealing anything worth less than $500, like someone's bike or a pack of gum. It's still a punishable crime, but you will get in much bigger trouble if you steal something more valuable, like a car.
Vocabulary lists containing theft
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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.
The CIA’s David Rush, arrested in May on charges of theft of public money, was a senior supervisor in the agency’s science and technology division.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026
The company agreed to donate more than 50 plate readers, free of charge for six months, to the wealthy Palisades area, where residents and law enforcement officials were on high alert about potential theft.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
The defendants on trial in France have been charged with criminal conspiracy and intent to commit an offence, while some of them are also charged with theft of an exhibited cultural object.
From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026
The former head of the national history museum in Bucharest, Ernest Oberländer-Târnoveanu, faced considerable domestic criticism for loaning the gold objects abroad and lost his job within days of the theft.
From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026
Henry Duveen needed to stay far away from the Mona Lisa theft.
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.
