thievery

American  

[thee-vuh-ree] / ˈθi və ri /

noun

• thieveries
  plural

1. the act or practice of thieving; theft.

2. something taken by theft.

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Usage

What does thievery mean? Thievery is the practice of thieving—stealing. Thieves lead a life of thievery. The words thief and theft are often used in situations in which a person steals in secret and without using force or violence. However, the word thievery is used in the context of all kinds of thefts, even violent ones. Thieve and thievery often imply that such activity is habitual or part of a criminal lifestyle. Example: He is a pirate, a rogue—he knows nothing but lies and thievery.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• thieveries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of thievery

First recorded in 1560–70; thieve + -ery

Explanation

Use the noun thievery when you need a colorful, old fashioned way to describe stealing: you might complain bitterly about the thievery in your neighborhood after having your third bicycle stolen in a month. If you're worried about thievery, you might install a burglar alarm or get a big barking dog. A more common way to say thievery is theft, or in a police report, larceny. It's easy to see where the word thievery comes from — to thieve is to steal, and both words come from the Old English root þeof, or thief.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

thievery thieveries

Nestlé said it had publicized the incident with humor to raise awareness around the more serious issue of thievery.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026

Speaking exclusively to Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, he said if ministers go ahead with plans to allow AI firms to use artists' content without paying, they would be "committing theft, thievery on a high scale".

From BBC ● May 18, 2025

We won’t have an answer until judges start weighing in on the lawsuits challenging the AI firms’ exploitation of published materials — on whether it’s thievery or fair use.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 16, 2023

In the last few years, though, homeless encampments have multiplied in the surrounding streets and thievery has become so relentless that the brothers are ready to give up and sell their business.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 3, 2023

But Wang Lung, although he had no answer for her, felt his gorge rise at this thievery of his sons, and he did not blame the elder when' he was slow at the business.

From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck

In Blake's drawing of Brunelleschi, the attacking serpent is not so much an infernal punishment for Brunelleschi's thieveries as a symbol of the envy that made him a thief.

From Time Magazine Archive

The crisis is achieved when the Mayor's thieveries threaten to reflect on his daughter, but there is a boy who loves her and who is able to protect the Mayor's good name for her sake.

From Time Magazine Archive

It is that troop of beggars; bringing their tricks and their thieveries they are to the Kinvara fair.

From The Unicorn from the Stars and Other Plays by Lady Gregory

Another phase of their adventure with the shopping district thieveries turned up in the woods and contributed greatly to the excitement of their experience.

From The Grammar School Boys in Summer Athletics by H. Irving (Harrie Irving) Hancock

Fortune, which will not suffer him to be honest, makes his thieveries, in her extremity of whim, to be but benefits for others.

From An Introduction to Shakespeare by H. N. MacCracken