thieve
/θiːv
/verb [no object]
Be a thief; steal something: they began thieving again [with object]: the students have been thieving my favourite art books...
- When I ran out of money I ended up borrowing and then thieving.
- A shoplifter went prepared for thieving with a specially adapted carrier bag designed to stop alarms going off.
- We want crime rates to drop and steps to be taken to convince young criminals that there is an alternative to thieving and breaking the law.
Synonyms
theft, stealing, thievery, robbery, larceny, pilfering, pilferage;
burglary, shoplifting, looting;
misappropriation, expropriation, embezzlement
rare peculation, defalcation
light-fingered, thievish, larcenous;
dishonest
informal sticky-fingered, nimble-fingered, crooked, bent
rare furacious, kleptic, theftuous
Origin
Old English thēofian, from thēof 'thief'. Transitive uses began in the late 17th century.