thief

[theef]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR thief ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural thieves.

a person who steals, especially secretly or without open force; one guilty of theft or larceny.

Nearby words

Origin of thief

before 900; Middle English; Old English thēof; cognate with Dutch dief, German Dieb, Old Norse thjōfr, Gothic thiufs

SYNONYMS FOR thief

burglar, pickpocket, highwayman. Thief, robber refer to one who steals. A thief takes the goods or property of another by stealth without the latter's knowledge: like a thief in the night. A robber trespasses upon the house, property, or person of another, and makes away with things of value, even at the cost of violence: A robber held up two women on the street.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR thief ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsun·der·thief, noun, plural un·der·thieves.

Can be confusedburglar mugger robber thief (see synonym study at the current entry)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for thief

Dear Thief is worthy of the abused critical adjectives philosophical, atmospheric, and masterful.
A Novel Nearly Impossible to Review|Nicholas Mancusi|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief, doctor, lawyer, Indian chief, and all that.
Joseph Campbell on the Roots of Halloween|Joseph Campbell|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All a thief had to do was take off the dial knob on the safe and place the little joker on inside of it.
The High Society Bank Robber of the 1800s|J. North Conway|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Cole was clearly experimenting with this, the signature curve of his storytelling, while writing Every Day Is for the Thief.
Teju Cole’s Keen Eye Spares No One—Himself Included|Benjamin Lytal|July 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST

His Nigeria book, Every Day is For the Thief, was actually written in 2006, prior to Open City.
Teju Cole’s Keen Eye Spares No One—Himself Included|Benjamin Lytal|July 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He remonstrated with Adele, no use; he offered to fight a duel with the perfidious Kestrike, no use; the thief was a coward.'
Madame Midas|Fergus Hume
But no matter—the thief was clear off; and the only comfort he got from his neighbors, was being rated for his stinginess.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 1, No. 4, September, 1850|Various
And yet he was so cool it seemed impossible that he was a thief whom I had caught red-handed.
The Stretton Street Affair|William Le Queux
And that's why you wanted to prove me a thief with this purse.
The Road to Damascus|August Strindberg
The little girl, knowing that she was "within her rights," had seized Jeli by the neck as if he were a thief.
Under the Shadow of Etna|Giovanni Verga

British Dictionary definitions for thief

thief

noun plural thieves (θiːvz)

a person who steals something from another

criminal law a person who commits theft

Derived Formsthievish, adjectivethievishly, adverbthievishness, noun

Word Origin for thief

Old English thēof; related to Old Frisian thiāf, Old Saxon thiof, Old High German diob, Old Norse thjōfr, Gothic thiufs

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

Word Origin and History for thief

thief

Old English þeof, from Proto-Germanic *theubaz (cf. Old Frisian thiaf, Old Saxon thiof, Middle Dutch dief, Old High German diob, German dieb, Old Norse þiofr, Gothic þiufs), probably from PIE *teup- (cf. Lithuanian tupeti "to crouch down").