1
: to take the property of another wrongfully and especially as a habitual or regular practice
2
: to come or go secretly, unobtrusively, gradually, or unexpectedly
3
: to steal or attempt to steal a base
1
a
: to take or appropriate without right or leave and with intent to keep or make use of wrongfully
stole a car
b
: to take away by force or unjust means
they've stolen our liberty
c
: to take surreptitiously or without permission
steal a kiss
d
: to appropriate to oneself or beyond one's proper share : make oneself the focus of
steal the show
2
a
: to move, convey, or introduce secretly : smuggle
b
: to accomplish in a concealed or unobserved manner
steal a visit
3
a
: to seize, gain, or win by trickery, skill, or daring
a basketball player adept at stealing the ball
stole the election
b
of a base runner
: to reach (a base) safely solely by running and usually catching the opposing team off guard
stealer
noun
1
: the act or an instance of stealing
2
: a fraudulent or questionable political deal
3
: bargain sense 2
it's a steal at that price
Synonyms
Examples of steal in a Sentence
Verb
They stole thousands of dollars' worth of jewelry from the store.
He discovered that his car had been stolen.
The store manager accused the boy of stealing.
I stole a cookie from the cookie jar.
They stole our best pitcher away from our team.
His outstanding performance stole the show.
Noun
This car is a steal at only $5,000.
He has 40 steals this season.
a nifty steal by the defender
Recent Examples on the Web
Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 14 Apr. 2024
Advertisement Just down the street from Dodger Stadium, Ohtani’s longtime interpreter and close colleague Mizuhara surrendered to authorities on charges of stealing more than $16 million from Ohtani to supply his gambling addiction.
—Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2024
The interpreter, a longtime friend of Ohtani’s named Ippei Mizuhara, allegedly stole vast sums of money from a bank account established in Ohtani’s name.
—Brian Fung, CNN, 13 Apr. 2024
Joy Randolph steals every scene as Cherise, Rob’s employee and a struggling musician who's afraid to take a creative leap.
—Tanya Melendez, EW.com, 13 Apr. 2024
Instead, the company said, login credentials used in the hacks were likely stolen from another source for which the affected users may have used the same username and password.
—Lucia Suarez Sang, CBS News, 12 Apr. 2024
Despite needing $3,000 and possibly resorting to stealing a convertible to make their way to the Windy City, the girls will stop at nothing to escape.
—Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 12 Apr. 2024
More:Man says he was arrested for stealing his own car.
—Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 12 Apr. 2024
The case is just the latest in what American officials say is a relentless campaign by China to try to steal American trade secrets, cutting-edge research and technology as well as intellectual property.
—Ryan Lucas, NPR, 12 Apr. 2024
Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 15 Apr. 2024
Bam Adebayo added 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field, six rebounds, two assists, three steals and one block in 19 minutes for the Heat.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 14 Apr. 2024
Beyond its amazing skincare benefits, this product is an absolute steal right now at $9.
—Alexandra Domrongchai, Travel + Leisure, 6 Apr. 2024
The only Mountain West player in the game for seniors who have exhausted their eligibility finished with 16 points on 6 of 8 shooting to go with four assists and a steal in 23 minutes.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Apr. 2024
Johnson had 10 points, three rebounds and four steals in USC’s win at Pauley Pavilion on Feb. 24.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
The Warriors’ defense starts with Green, who registered four steals and a block.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 3 Apr. 2024
Getting over $100 off this high-end Polk Audio model is a steal.
—K. Thor Jensen, PCMAG, 1 Apr. 2024
His 990 steals and 4,474 assists with the team rank third and fourth all-time for Celtics players.
—Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2024
Verb
During the second burglary, over $170,000 dollars worth of jewelry was stolen.
—Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 14 Apr. 2024
Advertisement Just down the street from Dodger Stadium, Ohtani’s longtime interpreter and close colleague Mizuhara surrendered to authorities on charges of stealing more than $16 million from Ohtani to supply his gambling addiction.
—Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2024
The interpreter, a longtime friend of Ohtani’s named Ippei Mizuhara, allegedly stole vast sums of money from a bank account established in Ohtani’s name.
—Brian Fung, CNN, 13 Apr. 2024
Joy Randolph steals every scene as Cherise, Rob’s employee and a struggling musician who's afraid to take a creative leap.
—Tanya Melendez, EW.com, 13 Apr. 2024
Instead, the company said, login credentials used in the hacks were likely stolen from another source for which the affected users may have used the same username and password.
—Lucia Suarez Sang, CBS News, 12 Apr. 2024
Despite needing $3,000 and possibly resorting to stealing a convertible to make their way to the Windy City, the girls will stop at nothing to escape.
—Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 12 Apr. 2024
More:Man says he was arrested for stealing his own car.
—Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 12 Apr. 2024
The case is just the latest in what American officials say is a relentless campaign by China to try to steal American trade secrets, cutting-edge research and technology as well as intellectual property.
—Ryan Lucas, NPR, 12 Apr. 2024
Noun
Harrison Barnes scored 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting with five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
—Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 15 Apr. 2024
Bam Adebayo added 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field, six rebounds, two assists, three steals and one block in 19 minutes for the Heat.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 14 Apr. 2024
Beyond its amazing skincare benefits, this product is an absolute steal right now at $9.
—Alexandra Domrongchai, Travel + Leisure, 6 Apr. 2024
The only Mountain West player in the game for seniors who have exhausted their eligibility finished with 16 points on 6 of 8 shooting to go with four assists and a steal in 23 minutes.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Apr. 2024
Johnson had 10 points, three rebounds and four steals in USC’s win at Pauley Pavilion on Feb. 24.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
The Warriors’ defense starts with Green, who registered four steals and a block.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 3 Apr. 2024
Getting over $100 off this high-end Polk Audio model is a steal.
—K. Thor Jensen, PCMAG, 1 Apr. 2024
His 990 steals and 4,474 assists with the team rank third and fourth all-time for Celtics players.
—Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'steal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near steal
Cite this Entry
“Steal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/steal. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
steal
1 of 2 verb1
: to come or go secretly or quietly
stole out of the room
2
a
: to take and carry away without right and with the intention of keeping the property of another : rob
b
: to take in a sneaky way and without permission
steal a kiss
c
: to take entirely to oneself or beyond one's proper share
steal the show
3
a
b
: to accomplish or get in a concealed or unobserved manner
steal a nap
4
a
: to seize, gain, or win by trickery, skill, or daring
the basketball player stole the ball
b
: to gain a base in baseball by running without the aid of a hit or an error
stealer
noun
steal
2 of 2 noun1
: the act or an instance of stealing
2
: something offered or purchased at a low price : bargain
Medical Definition
steal
noun
: abnormal circulation characterized by deviation (as through collateral vessels or by backward flow) of blood to tissues where the normal flow of blood has been cut off by occlusion of an artery
subclavian steal
coronary steal
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share