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.

Origin of thief

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

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

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

Synonyms for thief

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR thief ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

thieve

[theev]

verb (used with object), thieved, thiev·ing.

to take by theft; steal.

verb (used without object), thieved, thiev·ing.

to act as a thief; commit theft; steal.

Origin of thieve

before 950; Old English thēofian, derivative of theōf thief (not recorded in ME)

Related formsthiev·ing·ly, adverbout·thieve, verb (used with object), out·thieved, out·thiev·ing.

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

Related Words for thieves

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

Examples from the Web for thieves

Contemporary Examples of thieves

Last month I turned and faced their surreptitious security: “Catch any thieves today?”
‘Why Have I Lost Control?’: Cory Booker in ’92 on Rodney King Echoes Ferguson
Cory Booker
November 26, 2014
He suspects that he saw, somehow, what the thieves saw, tapping into their perception of the back of the house.
Knocking on Heaven's Door: True Stories of Unexplained, Uncanny Experiences at the Hour of Death
Patricia Pearson
August 11, 2014
Typically most women carry their concealed firearms in their purses, the main target of thieves.
A Gun Owner Speaks: My Case for Open Carry
CJ Grisham
June 12, 2014
Indeed, a condition of rampant, endemic political corruption is known as a “kleptocracy”—literally, “rule by thieves.”
Ehud Olmert’s Sentencing Won’t Be a Day of Reckoning for Israel’s Leaders
Alon Ben-Meir
May 15, 2014
Megan Boken was one of many slain by thieves going ‘Apple picking.’
The Best of the Beast, May 5-12
The Daily Beast
May 10, 2014

Historical Examples of thieves

He also is the chief of the police force and catches the thieves.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
He would not have been embarrassed if they had been the Forty Thieves.
Malbone
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
I do not hold diplomatic relations with thieves and vagabonds.
In the Midst of Alarms
Robert Barr
Their thieves are the most daring and their agents the most cunning.
The Story of the Malakand Field Force
Sir Winston S. Churchill
They are thieves—they will steal from you before your very face, so devoid are they of all shame.
Green Mansions
W. H. Hudson

British Dictionary definitions for thieves

thieve

verb

to steal (someone's possessions)

Derived Formsthievery, noun

Word Origin for thieve

Old English thēofian, from thēof 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 thieves

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").

thieve

Old English þeofian, from þeof (see thief). Rare in Old English, not common until 17c. Thieving first attested 1520s.