Steal Definition

stēl
stealing, steals, stole, stolen
verb
stealing, steals, stole, stolen
To be a thief; practice theft.
Webster's New World
To take or appropriate (another's property, ideas, etc.) without permission, dishonestly, or unlawfully, esp. in a secret or surreptitious manner.
Webster's New World
To get, take, or give slyly, surreptitiously, or without permission.
To steal a look, to steal a kiss.
Webster's New World
To move, pass, etc. stealthily, quietly, gradually, or without being noticed.
Webster's New World
To present or use (someone else's words or ideas) as one's own.
American Heritage
Antonyms:
noun
An act of stealing.
Webster's New World
A bargain.
American Heritage
Something stolen.
Webster's New World
Something obtained at a cost so low as to be regarded as excessively favorable to the buyer.
Webster's New World
An act of gaining possession of the ball from an opponent.
American Heritage
idiom
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.
American Heritage

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Steal

Origin of Steal

  • From Middle English stelen, from Old English stelan, from Proto-Germanic *stelanÄ… (compare West Frisian stelle, Low German stehlen, Dutch stelen, German stehlen, Danish stjæle, Norwegian stjele), either from Proto-Indo-European *ster- (compare Welsh herw (“theft, raid"), Ancient Greek στερέω (stereō, “to deprive of")) or Proto-Indo-European*stel(H)- (“to stretch") (compare Albanian pë/mbështjell (“I confuse, mess up, mix, wrap up") , Old Church Slavonic [script?] (steljÇ«, “I spread out (bed, roof)"), Ancient Greek τηλία (tÄ“lía, “playing table")).

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English stelen from Old English stelan

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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