steal
verb
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stolen\ˈstō-lən
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stealing
Definition of steal
(Entry 1 of 2)
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
1a : 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
2a : to move, convey, or introduce secretly : smuggle
b : to accomplish in a concealed or unobserved manner steal a visit
3a : 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
: to gain an advantage on unobserved
: to grab attention from another especially by anticipating an idea, plan, or presentation also : to claim credit for another's idea
steal
nounDefinition of steal (Entry 2 of 2)
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
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Other words from steal
Verb
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adjective
Synonyms for steal
Synonyms: Verb
appropriate, filch, heist, hook, lift, misappropriate, nip, pilfer, pinch, pocket, purloin, rip off, snitch, swipe, thieve
Synonyms: Noun
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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: Verb
Mueller’s office details how Russian operatives stole sensitive data from the two groups using malware embedded in the party’s servers. — Matt Ford, The New Republic, "Truth Without Consequences," 13 July 2018 Burglary residence 5800 block of Northwest 86th Avenue in Tamarac, July 2, 11:16 p.m. A woman reported that her live-in boyfriend stole a Samsung TV, DVD player, and laptop computer from the home. — Dan White, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Plantation, Sunrise area crime reports," 12 July 2018 But there's another group of attendees who could steal the show: the page boys. — Maggie Maloney, Town & Country, "Who Will Be the Page Boys in Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's Wedding?," 5 July 2018 As a young teenager in Oakland, California, Burton was arrested multiple times for minor offenses like stealing a dirt bike. — Lindsay Gellman, The Atlantic, "Code Now. Pay Tuition Later.," 30 June 2018 In January armed robbers targeted a crypto-currency exchange in Canada; there have been many instances of individual investors’ bitcoin being stolen by hackers and thieves. — The Economist, "A disciplined startup emerges from the Wild West of crypto-currency," 28 June 2018 By the same token, some people who steal bicycles later go on to commit murders. — Matthew Yglesias, Vox, "The pernicious myth of “open borders”," 22 June 2018 One Disney fan group was even responsible for apprehending a thief who stole a family's stroller at Disney World. — Lindsey Murray, Good Housekeeping, "Facebook Is Testing a New Program That Will Charge for Access to Certain Groups," 21 June 2018 There’s a kerfuffle when a cow steals a bunch of bananas and, up the street towards the old fort, the gunmaker is putting Purdey’s to shame. — Victoria Mather, A-LIST, "India Files: the Princely Grandeur of Rajasthan," 20 June 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Carey posted 21 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks and four steals. — Roman Stubbs, chicagotribune.com, "At Nike Peach Jam, high school stars ready to see end of NBA's one-and-done era," 13 July 2018 The rookie shooting guard added three assists, one rebound, one steal and one block. — Keith Pompey, Philly.com, "Sixers' summer league woes continue in 87-75 loss to Wizards," 9 July 2018 Broxton, 28, became a 20/20 player (home runs and steals) last season but also ranked among the major-league leaders with 175 strikeouts and batted only .220 with a .299 OBP. — Tom Haudricourt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "After another season of adjustments, this time in the minors, Keon Broxton is back with Brewers," 27 June 2018 As a senior, Hutchison led the Broncos in points (20.0), rebounds (7.7), assists (3.5) and steals (1.5) per game. — Rachel Roberts, idahostatesman, "Boise State's Hutchison receives long-awaited invitation," 16 June 2018 Watch steals are rather simple depending on the type of clasp. — Anna Silman, The Cut, "The World’s Best Pickpocket Reviews The Ocean’s 8 Heist," 13 June 2018 That included Thompson's steal from James at the 3-point line leading to Green's dunk moments later and a Cleveland timeout down 15-6 at the 8:14 mark. — CBS News, "Steph Curry dazzles from deep, Warriors take 2-0 NBA Finals lead," 3 June 2018 Both steals this week came in the fifth inning on Sunday. — Ted Berg, For The Win, "Mike Trout Monday: Let's get carried away!," 21 May 2018 Scroll over the bars for details on games, points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals. — Rich Exner, cleveland.com, "LeBron James, James Harden and rest of 2018 NBA playoff scoring leaders (graphics)," 7 May 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'steal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
Come Back Here With That: 10 Fun Words...
Come Back Here With That: 10 Fun Words for Stealing
Which by the way is very, very wrong
Dictionary Entries near steal
Phrases Related to steal
Statistics for steal
Last Updated
11 Sep 2018
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for steal
The first known use of steal was before the 12th century
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More Definitions for steal
steal
verb
English Language Learners Definition of steal
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to take (something that does not belong to you) in a way that is wrong or illegal
: to take (something that you are not supposed to have) without asking for permission
: to wrongly take and use (another person's idea, words, etc.)
steal
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of steal (Entry 2 of 2)
: something that is being sold at a low price
baseball : the act of stealing a base
sports : the act of taking the ball, puck, etc., from another player
See the full definition for steal in the English Language Learners Dictionary
steal
verb
\
Kids Definition of steal
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : to take and carry away (something that belongs to another person) without permission and with the intention of keeping
2 : to come or go quietly or secretly She stole out of the room.
3 : to draw attention away from others The puppy stole the show.
4 : to take or get secretly or in a tricky way He stole a nap.
5 : to reach the next base safely in baseball by running to it when the ball has not been hit in play
6 : to take (as a ball or puck) from another player
7 : to take something from a situation
steal
nounKids Definition of steal (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : the act or an instance of stealing He leads the team in steals.
2 : bargain entry 1 sense 2 At 20 dollars, these boots were a steal.
steal
noun
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Medical Definition of steal
: 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
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steal
transitive verbKeep scrolling for more
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