the act or an instance of stealing; larceny
Origin of theft
Middle English thefte from Old English thiefth: see thief and -th
noun
Theft is defined as the act of stealing.
An example of theft is someone stealing another person's car.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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theft. (n.d.). Retrieved June 24th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/THEFT
theft
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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theft. (n.d.). Retrieved June 24th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/THEFT
theft
noun
- a. The unlawful taking of the property of another; larceny: the prevention of theft.b. An instance of such taking: several car thefts.
- Obsolete Something stolen.
Origin of theft
Middle English from Old English thīefthTHE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"theft." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 24 June 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/THEFT>.
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theft. (n.d.). Retrieved June 24th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/THEFT
theft
See also crime.
abaction the stealing of whole herds of cattle, as contrasted with a few head. —abactor, n. asportation unlawful removal of goods from where they are deposited or stored. banditry the practice of being a bandit. bibliokleptomania 1. a kleptomania specializing in books. 2. the motivations of a biblioklept. —bibliokleptomaniac, n. brigandism the practice of pillage, often destructive, usually practiced by a band of robbers. Also brigandage. —brigand, n. —brigandish, adj. dacoity murder and robbery committed by dacoits, a class of criminals in India and Burma. despoliation a despoiling; an act of robbery on a large scale; pillage. direption Obsolete, pillage; the act of plundering. embezzlement the misappropriation of funds that have been entrusted to one for care or management. Also called peculation. —embezzler, n. excoriation Obsolete, the act of stripping of possessions wrongfully and by force; spoliation or robbery. harpaxophobia an abnormal fear of robbers. kleptomania, cleptomania Psychology. an irresistible impulse to steal, especially when the thief can afford to pay. —kleptomaniac, n. kleptophobia, cleptophobia an abnormal fear of thieves or of loss through thievery. ladronism 1. SW. U.S. an act of thievery. 2. Scots Dialect, blackguardism and roguery. —ladrone, ladron, n. peculation embezzlement. —peculator, n. pilferage 1. petty stealing or pilfering. 2. the articles stolen in pilfering. pillage 1. the act of plundering or large scale robbery, usually accompanied by violence as in wartime. 2. plundered property; booty. piracy the act of robbery on the high seas. See also ships. —pirate, n. —piratic, piratical, adj. plagiarism 1. the verbatim copying or imitation of the language, ideas, or thoughts of another author and representing them as one’s own original work. 2. the material so appropriated. Also plagiary. —plagiarist, n. —plagiaristic, adj. predation the act or process of pillaging or plundering. rapacity the state or quality of being excessively greedy or given to theft. —rapacious, adj. rapine the act of pillage or plundering. spoliation the process of robbing or plundering, especially in time of war and on a large scale. See also church; ships. thievery 1. the act or practice of stealing or thieving. 2. Rare. the property stolen.Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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"theft." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 24 June 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/THEFT>.
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theft. (n.d.). Retrieved June 24th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/THEFT
Origin
Old English þȳft, þēoft, earlier þīefþ, þēofþ, from Proto-Germanic *þiubiþÅ, from *þeubaz (“thief"). Cognate with Old Norse þeoft, þeofð and (obsolete) Dutch diefte. Compare thief, -th.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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theft - Legal Definition
n
- Larceny; the unlawful expropriation of someone else’s property with the intent of keeping it from its rightful owner.
- In its broadest sense, any example or act of stealing, which includes burglary, embezzlement, false pretenses, fraud, and larceny. While larceny is generally categorized as petty or grand depending on the value of the goods taken, theft is generally categorized by the type of property stolen.
The misappropriation of another’s confidential and personal
information such that the one taking such data can use such information to pass
as the other by submission of credit documents, forging of identification
cards, etc.
Webster's New World Law Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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theft. (n.d.). Retrieved June 24th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/THEFT
Sentence Examples
- Surely Yancey wasn't involved in art theft as well.
- The adulterer, ravisher, &c. A man could not be convicted of theft unless the goods were found in his possession.
- Its theft is a frequent subject in Greek art, especially of the earlier time.
- They were prosecuted for theft, one of them being condemned to six months' imprisonment.
- When one takes into account that the next article of the declaration decreed death for domestic theft, the legislation is not relatively cruel.
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