Synonyms of filch

filch

verb

ˈfilch 

as in to steal

to take (something) without right and with an intent to keep

too hungry to wait until the party had started, he filched a cookie from the buffet table when no one was looking

Synonyms & Similar Words

• steal
• swipe
• pilfer
• purloin
• thieve
• grab
• lift
• snatch
• rob
• misappropriate
• appropriate
• snitch
• pinch
• nip
• hook
• pocket
• run off with
• rip off
• nick
• walk off with
• make away with
• make off with
• hijack
• take
• boost
• pick
• seize
• heist
• plunder
• sack
• loot
• pillage
• burglarize
• shoplift
• knock over
• poach
• rifle
• kidnap
• grasp
• rustle
• abduct
• spirit
• nail
• collar
• sponge
• carjack
• shanghai
• mooch

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• buy
• purchase
• give
• contribute
• present
• bestow
• donate
• hand over

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb filch differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of filch are pilfer, purloin, and steal. While all these words mean "to take from another without right or without detection," filch adds a suggestion of snatching quickly and surreptitiously.

filched an apple from the tray

When can pilfer be used instead of filch?

The meanings of pilfer and filch largely overlap; however, pilfer implies stealing repeatedly in small amounts.

pilfered from his employer

When might purloin be a better fit than filch?

While the synonyms purloin and filch are close in meaning, purloin stresses removing or carrying off for one's own use or purposes.

printed a purloined document

Where would steal be a reasonable alternative to filch?

The words steal and filch are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, steal may apply to any surreptitious taking of something and differs from the other terms by commonly applying to intangibles as well as material things.

steal jewels

stole a look at the gifts

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of filch

Nicky and Morgan get accidentally sucked into the vortex of a nasty crime syndicate after Morgan squabbles with a clerk (Boran Kuzum) about jewelry at a store and then filches it. — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2026

But even the best authors can’t seem to resist filching from The Bard’s pantry. — Literary Hub, 3 Feb. 2026

For a time, Louise ran an outfit of bookies from her room; Mae taught Burnett to filch toilet paper from a local luncheonette. — Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025

The plot about an attempt to filch a special gobstopper is, of course, lifted directly from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), in which another candy maker named Slugworth seeks to undercut his competition. — Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 29 Feb. 2024

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