verb trans
to take (something) without permission or illegally, without intending to return it
to use (someone else's ideas, work, material, etc) dishonestly as one's own
to take (a look, glance, etc) surreptitiously
to gain (an advantage over a rival, etc) by getting the better of them
in sport, to get (the ball or possession of it, a run, point, goal, etc) by catching one's opponent unawares
in baseball, to run and get to (a base) while the pitcher is delivering the ball to the batter
to take someone else's property dishonestly or illegally
to come or go stealthily or unobtrusively
to gain an advantage over (somebody) by stealthy or underhand means
to outdo (somebody) without their realizing what is happening till too late
He evidently intended to steal a march upon me, and smuggle a fine picture to New York, under my very nose; expecting me to know nothing of the matter — Poe
to anticipate or preempt somebody's words or actions, thus lessening or destroying their effect
[said to have originated in an exclamation by the playwright and critic John Dennis (1657–1734) in reaction to a special effect of thunder during a performance of Shakespeare's Macbeth: ‘Damn them! They will not let my play run, but they steal my thunder.’ His own play Appius and Virginia, which had been a failure, had used the same effect.]literary to charm or beguile somebody, esp into falling in love with one
to make a bigger and better impression than other ostensibly more prominent participants