theft

[ theft ]

noun

1. the act of stealing; the wrongful taking and carrying away of the personal goods or property of another; larceny.
2. an instance of this.
3. Archaic. something stolen.

theft

/ θɛft /

noun

1. criminal law the dishonest taking of property belonging to another person with the intention of depriving the owner permanently of its possession
2. rare.
   something stolen

Derived Forms

• ˈtheftless, adjective

Other Words From

• anti·theft adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of theft¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English thēfth, thēofth; thief, -th ¹; cognate with Old Norse thȳfth, obsolete Dutch diefte

Word History and Origins

Origin of theft¹

Old English thēofth; related to Old Norse thӯfth, Old Frisian thiūvethe, Middle Dutch düfte; see thief

Example Sentences

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office filed felony charges of identity theft, false impersonation and grand theft against Porter, according to Burbank police.

From Los Angeles Times

Ilya Lichtenstein pleaded guilty last year in the case involving the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange being hacked in 2016 and the theft of almost 120,000 bitcoin.

From BBC

Galab Singh Gold, who owns dozens of shops on and around the Royal Mile, told BBC News he had lost £15,000 worth of stock to theft in the last three months.

From BBC

"The police say they don't have the resources to tackle something like this but it's not just petty crime any more - this is organised theft."

From BBC

He gets a new lease on life when he’s tapped by a private investigator to go undercover at a San Francisco retirement home to dig into the theft of a missing heirloom.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• break in
• burglary
• crime
• embezzlement
• extortion
• fraud
• heist
• holdup
• larceny
• looting
• mugging
• piracy
• robbery
• shoplifting
• thievery
• vandalism