thief

noun

plural thieves ˈthēvz How to pronounce thief (audio)
: 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 thief pulled a gun on the driver, jumped into the Mercedes, and sped off, apparently not knowing there was a child in the back seat, cops were told. Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 20 July 2024 California cops are catching fewer thieves and burglars, new state data show. Phillip Reese, Sacramento Bee, 18 July 2024 In the visual, each member of the band stands by naively as murders, thieves, and arsonists wreck havoc around them. Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 16 July 2024 Iran’s intelligence and security services rely largely on proxies to carry out their plans, offering hundreds of thousands of dollars to jewel thieves, drug dealers and other criminals in murder-for-hire schemes, according to officials who have investigated the plots. Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post, 16 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for thief 

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.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English theef, from Old English thēof; akin to Old High German diob thief

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of thief was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near thief

Cite this Entry

“Thief.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thief. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.

Kids Definition

thief

noun
plural thieves ˈthēvz How to pronounce thief (audio)
: one that steals

Legal Definition

thief

noun
plural thieves
: one who commits theft
Etymology

Old English thēof

More from Merriam-Webster on thief

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!