Definition of BURGLE

Did You Know?

Burglary, which means "forcible entry into a building especially at night with the intent to commit a crime (as theft)," and "burglar" ("one who commits burglary") have been with us since the 16th century. "Burgle" and its synonym "burglarize" didn't break into the language until the 19th century, however, arriving almost simultaneously around 1870. "Burgle" is a back-formation (that is, a word formed by removing a suffix or prefix) from "burglar." "Burglarize" comes from "burglar" as well, with the addition of the familiar "-ize" ending. Both verbs were once disparaged by grammarians ("burgle" was considered to be "facetious" and "burglarize" was labeled "colloquial"), but they are now generally accepted. "Burglarize" is slightly more common in American English, whereas "burgle" seems to be preferred in British English.

Examples of burgle in a Sentence

someone burgled the lab when no one was there and let the animals out of their cages the neighbors returned from vacation to find that their house had been burgled

Recent Examples on the Web

More recently came the Bling Ring, eight well-off young adults from Southern California who burgled jewels from the homes of a handful of young celebrities, including Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Megan Fox. — Eric Konigsberg, Town & Country, "Old School Jewelry Heists Are on the Rise—And Celebrities Are the Target," 12 Apr. 2018 Russia has more than twice the number of intentional homicides than the US, but Americans are over five times more likely to be burgled and over 14 times more likely to be assaulted, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. — Henrik Pettersson, CNN, "Russia vs. US: Where is life better?," 14 Mar. 2018 West Brom winger James McClean has caused a stir on social media by lambasting a Twitter troll who revelled in the fact that he was recently burgled. — SI.com, "West Brom Winger James McClean Lays Into Twitter Troll Who Rejoiced Over His Recent Burglary," 7 Jan. 2018 He is also charged with burgling Woods' apartment two weeks earlier, court records show. — Cory Shaffer, cleveland.com, "Cleveland man beaten at former Saint Maron's rectory says he could have shot burglars," 5 Jan. 2018 He was charged under the Espionage Act and faced 115 years imprisonment, but the case ended in a mistrial because the government illegally gathered evidence (by, among other tactics, burgling his psychiatrist’s office). — Sam Roberts, New York Times, "Who’s Who in ‘The Post’: A Guide to the Players in a Pivotal Era," 25 Dec. 2017 Burglary, Concord Drive: A woman found her home burgled Dec. 12. — Bruce Geiselman, cleveland.com, "Police arrest suspect in Bedford Jeep theft: Westlake police blotter," 16 Dec. 2017 Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery's Paris apartment was burgled on Wednesday evening as his side won a cup tie away at Strasbourg. — Afp, chicagotribune.com, "PSG boss Emery's house robbed overnight in Paris," 14 Dec. 2017 In 2009, Boyle's parents' Ottawa home was burgled, though bullet holes in the home prompted the authorities to question whether the crime was linked to Boyle's first wife or his father's job as a federal tax judge. — Author: Mark Dent, Alaska Dispatch News, "A gunbattle, then freedom for a family held hostage in Afghanistan," 13 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'burgle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.