theft
Americannoun
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thefts
plural
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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.
See Examples For:
The theft at the charity's Cookstown offices happened in 2024, but the charity is speaking out as new figures show there have been 600 reports of oil and fuel thefts in Northern Ireland since 2021.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
The theft “confirms the need to immediately implement a comprehensive plan to secure France’s museums and protect works of art,” he added.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
The heist is the latest in a string of such robberies in France including the daylight theft last year of crown jewellery valued at around $100 million from the Louvre in Paris.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
The financial manipulations that undergirded their fortunes get scrutinized as theft from the public purse, praise for their courage and perspicacity yields to condemnation for their conduct.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
In 1651 Pascal reacted with horror to the suggestion that he had tried to pass Torricelli’s experiment off as his own: everyone understood, he insisted, that this would be the scholarly equivalent of theft.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
The theft at the charity's Cookstown offices happened in 2024, but the charity is speaking out as new figures show there have been 600 reports of oil and fuel thefts in Northern Ireland since 2021.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Police figures show that oil thefts in Northern Ireland peaked around Russia's invasion of Ukraine and have been fluctuating ever since.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
In one of France's most high-profile art thefts, in 1911, Leonardo de Vinci's famed "Mona Lisa" was stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
France is contending with a wave of thefts that have targeted its museums in recent years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
‘The practise of transcription in our dayes was no monster in theirs: Plagiarie had not its nativitie with printing,’ he concluded, ‘but began in times when thefts were difficult’ because books were in short supply.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
