burgling

verb

present participle of burgle
1
as in invading
to enter a house or building by force usually with illegal intent someone burgled the lab when no one was there and let the animals out of their cages

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in robbing
to remove valuables from (a place) unlawfully the neighbors returned from vacation to find that their house had been burgled

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for burgling
  1. invading
  2. robbing
Verb
  • In 1982, invading Israeli forces occupied the city, withdrawing three years later.
    — Jane Arraf, NPR, 1 Aug. 2026
  • And, on the other other hand, warmer winters could accelerate the northward spread of pine processionary caterpillars, which are already invading southern Germany.
    — Ben Crair, New Yorker, 31 July 2026
Definition of invading
Verb
  • Tracy Daryl Mingo is accused of wearing various disguises while robbing metro Atlanta Circle Ks, Subways, and Family Dollars.
    — Dan Raby, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Thieves have long used a variety of methods — tapping into ducts, hijacking tanker trucks or robbing directly from facilities of Petroleos Mexicanos, the state energy company known as Pemex.
    — Foreign Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of robbing
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

burgles
burgling
burgs
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Burgling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/burgling. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on burgling

Nglish: Translation of burgling for Spanish Speakers

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!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of nurture

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

How long is a jiffy?
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All