plural thieves
ˈthēvz 
: one that steals especially stealthily or secretly
also
: one who commits theft or larceny
Examples of thief in a Sentence
A thief took my purse.
a thief has been stealing wallets and valuables from the lockers at the gym
Recent Examples on the Web
The 2023 bestseller follows two Los Angeles County arson investigators who suspect that a massive wildfire raging through the Santa Monica mountains is part of an elaborate heist by a professional thief and his skilled crew.
—
Selena Kuznikov, Variety, 25 Apr. 2024
In March 2020, thieves broke into the Christ Church Picture Gallery at the University of Oxford and stole three artworks, which were together worth approximately $12 million.
—Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Apr. 2024
Police responded to an alarm around the time of a $30-million heist, but thieves were undetected.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2024
While inequality has grown and 800 million Indians are at the mercy of monthly rations, many focus instead on their faith that Mr. Modi is not a thief.
—Mujib Mashal, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024
The pitch was to stop wasting costly prison space on drug addicts and petty thieves convicted of non-violent crimes.
—John Woolfolk, The Mercury News, 18 Apr. 2024
The thieves’ motives are unclear, but the farm is asking the community to keep an eye out for their goats being sold elsewhere.
—Julia Daye, Sacramento Bee, 17 Apr. 2024
The Wichita Eagle reported that the thieves planned to scrap the metal from the statue for money, according to court records.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 11 Apr. 2024
As a skilled thief, Kay’s antics catch the attention of Sliro, the leader of a new, foreboding criminal syndicate Zerek Besh.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024
Selena Kuznikov, Variety, 25 Apr. 2024
In March 2020, thieves broke into the Christ Church Picture Gallery at the University of Oxford and stole three artworks, which were together worth approximately $12 million.
—Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Apr. 2024
Police responded to an alarm around the time of a $30-million heist, but thieves were undetected.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2024
While inequality has grown and 800 million Indians are at the mercy of monthly rations, many focus instead on their faith that Mr. Modi is not a thief.
—Mujib Mashal, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024
The pitch was to stop wasting costly prison space on drug addicts and petty thieves convicted of non-violent crimes.
—John Woolfolk, The Mercury News, 18 Apr. 2024
The thieves’ motives are unclear, but the farm is asking the community to keep an eye out for their goats being sold elsewhere.
—Julia Daye, Sacramento Bee, 17 Apr. 2024
The Wichita Eagle reported that the thieves planned to scrap the metal from the statue for money, according to court records.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 11 Apr. 2024
As a skilled thief, Kay’s antics catch the attention of Sliro, the leader of a new, foreboding criminal syndicate Zerek Besh.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'thief.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Thief.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thief. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
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