petty theft

noun

: the crime of stealing something that does not have a high value

Examples of petty theft in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Young has been charged with one count of criminal threats, four counts of petty theft with prior convictions, one count of new felony while released on own recognizance, 11 counts of misdemeanor petty theft and two counts of violating a stay away order. —Tim Fang, CBS News, 14 May 2026

This Daisy ran away from her two dads, acquiring a rap sheet for petty theft along the way. —Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 6 May 2026

Spiegelman uses the term micro-looting, dressing up petty theft in political pretensions. —Thomas Chatterton Williams, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2026

That’s before Morgan steals a necklace from a chintzy gift shop run by a Turkish gangster named Yusuf, who proceeds to kidnap the pair, intimidate them at gunpoint, and threaten their family, forcing them to perform an array of odd jobs to make up for the petty theft. —Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 9 Apr. 2026

Rhymes for petty theft

• bereft
• cleft
• deft
• heft
• left

Legal Definition

petty theft

see also:

theft