pickpocket

noun

Definition of pickpocketnext
as in thief
a person who steals money and other things from people's pockets and purses

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of pickpocket Many frequent fliers swear by functional, secure styles that hold all their essentials and protect against pickpockets. — Destinee Scott, Travel + Leisure, 7 Oct. 2026 The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, costarring Will Price, Tatiana Maslany, Victoria Moroles, Steve Buscemi and Jamie Lee Curtis, follows Turturro’s aging pickpocket and Esposito as the detective on his tail. — Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 21 Sep. 2026 About 600 police officers are on duty around the festival in addition to Bavarian riot police, specialized pickpocket investigators, and international task forces from eight countries, dpa reported. — ABC News, 19 Sep. 2026 One such ruse, revealed by The Athletic in August 2024, involved a team of pickpockets being hired to teach his squad the importance of being ready, alert and prepared at all times. — Art De Roché, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for pickpocket
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pickpocket
  1. thief
  2. robber
  3. swindler
  4. racketeer
  5. gangster
  6. hoodlum
  7. ruffian
  8. thug
Noun
  • The thieves also damaged the main office building with copper wiring and components removed from rooftop systems and air conditioning units, police said.
    — Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The basic set-up, for years, was just a comic ripping off a joke and performing it on stage; the infamous mid-2000s Comedy Store stand-off between Joe Rogan and alleged joke thief Carlos Mencia is one of the most famous examples.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of thief
Noun
  • Romero retired from the NYPD as a detective in 2001, a year after he was shot while off duty by armed robbers at his family-run laundromat in Brooklyn, law enforcement sources told ABC New York City station WABC.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The series opens from the police perspective, but later the story rewinds and is told through the eyes of the robbers and and their hostages inside the bank.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of robber
Noun
  • The former swindler’s crimes were revisited in the 2026 Paramount+ docuseries The Real Wolf of Wall Street.
    — Erica Marrison, PEOPLE, 16 July 2026
  • The decade ended tumultuously, with the Osmond family’s fortune drained by a series of swindlers and grifters.
    — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2026
Definition of swindler
Noun
  • Rankin singles out the remarkable career of Sakai Eizo, a racketeer who founded the Great Japanese Order of Righteousness.
    — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Of course, entrusting waste management to gangsters and racketeers has repercussions.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 July 2026
Definition of racketeer
Noun
  • New owners Jeremy Fall and Sean Maloney plan to preserve its historic character — and the booth gangster Mickey Cohen preferred — while adding dishes such as fresh ravioli and prime rib frites.
    — Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
  • For decades, Hollywood actor Danny Trejo’s bread and butter was playing gangsters, prison inmates and other assorted criminals.
    — Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of gangster
Noun
  • His warning was meant for American eyes and ears at least as much — if not more so — than for the government in Jerusalem that until now has encouraged the hoodlums by tolerating their violence.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Also in his orbit are a consortium of crooks, including his cousin Freddie, a hip junkie, and Pepper, a taciturn hoodlum who was friends with Ray’s dad, Big Mike, a legendary thief.
    — Niela Orr, Vulture, 20 July 2026
Definition of hoodlum
Noun
  • The others were ruffians, teasers, always angling to drink whatever was left in some grownup’s glass.
    — George Saunders, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
  • But as with any good Leonard story, the best moments come from the characters, a rogues’ gallery of violent ruffians and neurotic, duplicitous scoundrels.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of ruffian
Noun
  • These low-level thugs typically are not believed to be formally aligned with Iran.
    — Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Borisov, who broke through as a thug with a poet’s soul in the 2024 Anora, vests Ilya with the same spiritual contours.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of thug

Browse Nearby Words

pick over
pickpocket
pickpockets
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Cite this Entry

“Pickpocket.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pickpocket. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

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