theft

noun

ˈtheft 

1

a

: the act of stealing

specifically : the felonious taking and removing of personal property with intent to deprive the rightful owner of it

b

: an unlawful taking (as by embezzlement or burglary) of property

2

: a stolen base in baseball

3

obsolete : something stolen

Synonyms of theft

• robbery
• stealing

Examples of theft in a Sentence

The theft of the jewelry and other valuables was immediately reported to the police.

He was found guilty of theft.

Recent Examples on the Web

Others targeted with beatings and forms of public shaming — including children — were accused of theft, drug trafficking or illegally selling tobacco. —Sam Metz, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2026

Ronnie Hackett, The Card Lab's owner who opened the store two months ago, told ABC affiliate KGO that the manager was on another level of the store when the theft went down. —ABC News, 9 June 2026

Greifeneder’s team is working on a prequel to hit TNT show 4 Blocks, a thriller from Dark producers Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar starring Dark’s Lisa Vicari and based on the tales of Struwwelpeter, and a Beetz Brothers documentary about the theft of the Big Maple Leaf gold coin in Berlin. —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 9 June 2026

Three men have each been sentenced to 47 months in prison for the theft of ancient Romanian gold from a Dutch museum, marking a major development in the 16-month-long case. —Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 9 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English thiefthe, from Old English thīefth; akin to Old English thēof thief

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing theft

• anti-theft
• grand theft
• identity theft
• petit theft
• petty theft

Rhymes for theft

• cleft
• deft
• heft
• left
• bereft

Kids Definition

theft

noun

ˈtheft 

: the act of stealing

Legal Definition

theft

noun

: larceny

broadly : a criminal taking of the property or services of another without consent

Note: Theft commonly encompasses by statute a variety of forms of stealing formerly treated as distinct crimes.

— grand theft

: theft of property or services whose value exceeds a specified amount or of a specified kind of property (as an automobile)

Note: Grand theft is a felony.

— identity theft

: the unauthorized use of another's means of identification (as name or social security number) for the purpose of committing theft or another crime

— petty theft

: theft of property or services whose value is below a specified amount

called also petit theft

Note: Petty theft is a misdemeanor but may be aggravated by prior convictions.

Etymology

Old English thiefth