thief

[ theef ]
/ θif /
SEE 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.

Origin of thief

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

synonym study for thief

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.

OTHER WORDS FROM thief

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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH thief

robber, thief (see synonym study at the current entry).

Words nearby thief

thick skin, thick-skinned, thick-skulled, thick-tailed ray, thick-witted, thief, thief ant, thief in the night, like a, thief, thieves, thiemia, thienylalanine
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to thief

burglar, sniper, pickpocket, bandit, crook, swindler, criminal, pirate, robber, mugger, prowler, clip, cheat, hijacker, punk, plunderer, kleptomaniac, pilferer, larcenist, stealer

Example sentences from the Web for thief

British Dictionary definitions for thief

thief
/ (θiːf) /

noun plural thieves (θiːvz)

a person who steals something from another
criminal law a person who commits theft

Derived forms of thief

thievish, 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