as in steals
to take (something) without right and with an intent to keep
a professional burglar was able to heist a box of jewelry from the safe in the closet
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of heists
Lisa Cavazuti, NBC news, 15 Mar. 2026
The heists typically occurred late at night and usually involved Bland and Tucker, who entered each business wearing hooded sweatshirts and face masks.
—City News Service, Daily News, 26 Feb. 2026
Leanne, a single mother, turns to her amateur heists to avoid losing her family flat, Mattie to get some money to his daughter as child maintenance, despite his chronic gambling.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 25 Feb. 2026
Why are so many heists happening in Europe?
—Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 6 Feb. 2026
Two recent Roxbury city councilors, Tania Fernandes Anderson and Chuck Turner, have ended up in federal prison for assorted heists.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 9 Jan. 2026
The robbery was believed to be one of eight Chicago-area bank heists pulled by Erickson in a 23-month crime spree that netted nearly $180,000.
—Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 9 Jan. 2026
The trio of seafood heists underscores the growing concern of cargo theft.
—Ben Brasch, Washington Post, 1 Jan. 2026
This is just the latest in a string of shellfish heists bedeviling the Northeast where lobster, crabs, and oysters have gone missing in recent weeks.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 31 Dec. 2025
Noun
Carlsen noted that funds from both IT worker schemes and crypto heists frequently end up with Chinese brokers tied to organized-crime syndicates.
—Lisa Cavazuti, NBC news, 15 Mar. 2026
The heists typically occurred late at night and usually involved Bland and Tucker, who entered each business wearing hooded sweatshirts and face masks.
—City News Service, Daily News, 26 Feb. 2026
Leanne, a single mother, turns to her amateur heists to avoid losing her family flat, Mattie to get some money to his daughter as child maintenance, despite his chronic gambling.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 25 Feb. 2026
Why are so many heists happening in Europe?
—Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 6 Feb. 2026
Two recent Roxbury city councilors, Tania Fernandes Anderson and Chuck Turner, have ended up in federal prison for assorted heists.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 9 Jan. 2026
The robbery was believed to be one of eight Chicago-area bank heists pulled by Erickson in a 23-month crime spree that netted nearly $180,000.
—Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 9 Jan. 2026
The trio of seafood heists underscores the growing concern of cargo theft.
—Ben Brasch, Washington Post, 1 Jan. 2026
This is just the latest in a string of shellfish heists bedeviling the Northeast where lobster, crabs, and oysters have gone missing in recent weeks.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 31 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heists
Noun
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However, in 2024, there were 223 car thefts during the same time period.—
Todd Feurer,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
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Since then, crime has fallen and the percentage of solved robberies has increased from 34% to 49%, according to Berkeley Police Chief Jen Louis, who specifically praised the technology for helping track down auto thefts and identifying suspects across the region.—
Chase Hunter,
Mercury News,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Each impact steals a tiny bit of the spacecraft’s speed, pushing it a smidgen closer to Earth.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
26 Mar. 2026
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Outstanding UConn defender Dom Perno steals the ball from Bradley as the clock runs out to preserve a UConn victory, sending UConn to the Elite 8, where they eventually were beaten by Duke, 101-54.—
Kels Dayton,
Hartford Courant,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Proponents said the change will help businesses better absorb the transaction fees that credit card companies are allowed to charge each time someone swipes their credit card.—
Barbara Hoberock,
Oklahoman,
19 Feb. 2026
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Continue reading … DARING DASH – Sneaky feline swipes a free snack — and it's caught on video.—
,
FOXNews.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Heists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heists. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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