stealer
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
steal
(stēl)v. stole (stōl), sto·len (stō′lən), steal·ing, steals
v.tr.
1. To take (the property of another) without right or permission.
2. To present or use (someone else's words or ideas) as one's own.
3. To get or take secretly or artfully: steal a look at a diary; steal the puck from an opponent.
4. To give or enjoy (a kiss) that is unexpected or unnoticed.
5. To draw attention unexpectedly in (an entertainment), especially by being the outstanding performer: The magician's assistant stole the show with her comic antics.
6. Baseball To advance safely to (another base) during the delivery of a pitch, without the aid of a base hit, walk, passed ball, or wild pitch.
v.intr.
1. To steal another's property.
2. To move, happen, or elapse stealthily or unobtrusively: He stole away for a quiet moment. The deadline stole up on us.
3. Baseball To steal a base.
n.
Idiom: 1. The act of stealing.
2. Slang A bargain.
3. Baseball A stolen base.
4. Basketball An act of gaining possession of the ball from an opponent.
steal (someone's) thunder
To use, appropriate, or preempt the use of another's idea, especially to one's own advantage and without consent by the originator.
[Middle English stelen, from Old English stelan.]
steal′er n.
Synonyms: steal, purloin, filch, pilfer, swipe, lift, pinch
These verbs mean to take another's property wrongfully, often surreptitiously. Steal is the most general: stole a car; steals research from colleagues. To purloin is to make off with something, often in a breach of trust: purloined the key to his cousin's safe-deposit box. Filch often suggests that what is stolen is of little value, while pilfer sometimes connotes theft of or in small quantities: filched towels from the hotel; pilfered fruit from the farmer. Swipe frequently connotes quick, furtive snatching or seizing: swiped a magazine from the rack. To lift is to take something surreptitiously and keep it for oneself: a pickpocket who lifts wallets on the subway. Pinch can apply loosely to any kind of stealing, but literally it means taking something by picking it up between the thumb and the fingers: pinched a dollar from the till.
These verbs mean to take another's property wrongfully, often surreptitiously. Steal is the most general: stole a car; steals research from colleagues. To purloin is to make off with something, often in a breach of trust: purloined the key to his cousin's safe-deposit box. Filch often suggests that what is stolen is of little value, while pilfer sometimes connotes theft of or in small quantities: filched towels from the hotel; pilfered fruit from the farmer. Swipe frequently connotes quick, furtive snatching or seizing: swiped a magazine from the rack. To lift is to take something surreptitiously and keep it for oneself: a pickpocket who lifts wallets on the subway. Pinch can apply loosely to any kind of stealing, but literally it means taking something by picking it up between the thumb and the fingers: pinched a dollar from the till.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
stealer
(ˈstiːlə)n
a person who steals something
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  stealer - a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling itburglar - a thief who enters a building with intent to steal criminal, crook, felon, malefactor, outlaw - someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime body snatcher, ghoul, graverobber - someone who takes bodies from graves and sells them for anatomical dissection graverobber - someone who steals valuables from graves or crypts holdup man, stickup man - an armed thief cutpurse, pickpocket, dip - a thief who steals from the pockets or purses of others in public places literary pirate, pirate, plagiariser, plagiarist, plagiarizer - someone who uses another person's words or ideas as if they were his own despoiler, freebooter, looter, pillager, plunderer, raider, spoiler - someone who takes spoils or plunder (as in war) robber - a thief who steals from someone by threatening violence cattle thief, rustler - someone who steals livestock (especially cattle) snatcher - a thief who grabs and runs; "a purse snatcher" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
stealer
nounA person who steals:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.