thiefnoun [ C ]
uk/θiːf/us/θiːf/plural thievesB1 a person who steals:
The art gallery was broken into last night, and the thieves got away with two valuable paintings.
See also
theft
More examples
- The thief had disturbed the documents in her filing cabinet, but nothing had been taken.
- The diamond thief double-crossed his partners and gave them only worthless fake jewels.
- It's said that a barking dog puts off the opportunist thief.
- The police believe he is the thief, but all the evidence suggests otherwise .
- The thief broke into the office while his accomplice stalled off the security guard.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Miscellaneous criminals
- arson
- bigamy
- black hat
- black market
- blackmail
- fence
- fire starter
- fire-raising
- fly-posting
- forger
- pickpocket
- pirate
- plagiarize
- plunder
- poacher
- stowaway
- straw man
- suicide bomber
- swindle
- terrorist
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Idiom(s)
it takes a thief to catch a thief
like a thief in the night