as in thief
a person who steals money and other things from people's pockets and purses
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Recent Examples of pickpocket
Her phone had vanished — lifted by a subway pickpocket with a magician's touch.
—
Jj Rosen, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
Wearing it across your body — especially with the bag positioned in front — adds an extra layer of security against pickpockets eyeing your phone or wallet.
—Maggie Horton, People.com, 13 June 2025
But centuries after travelers first started flocking to Venice, braving the crowds, lines and pickpockets still feels worth it.
—Joe Sills, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
Rome is known to be a relatively safe city (though tourists should be careful about pickpockets around popular sites) and easy to get around.
—Daliah Singer, Denver Post, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for pickpocket
Jj Rosen, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
Wearing it across your body — especially with the bag positioned in front — adds an extra layer of security against pickpockets eyeing your phone or wallet.
—Maggie Horton, People.com, 13 June 2025
But centuries after travelers first started flocking to Venice, braving the crowds, lines and pickpockets still feels worth it.
—Joe Sills, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
Rome is known to be a relatively safe city (though tourists should be careful about pickpockets around popular sites) and easy to get around.
—Daliah Singer, Denver Post, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for pickpocket
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pickpocket
Noun
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The idea that new technology can flip the odds of catching a thief or recovering a child feels like progress.—
Jennifer Jolly,
USA Today,
14 Sep. 2025
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Overall last year, nighttime thefts of copper wiring along RTD disrupted train service 21 times between April and October, with thieves escaping with metal worth about $110,000.—
John Aguilar,
Denver Post,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Redford plays an aging bank robber and escape artist who can’t quite quit the criminal life, and even gets to ride a horse – a fitting bookend for a inimitable Hollywood career.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
16 Sep. 2025
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That film begins with charismatic bank robber Ryan Gosling in a thrilling motorcycle escape from the cops, and moves through several twists and turns, lurches forward in time, and holds Gosling at its heart as a man doing bad things for good reasons.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The romance scam began in July, when the elderly woman, based in Hokkaido, connected with the swindler on social media, AFP and Sky News reported.—
Jillian Frankel,
PEOPLE,
4 Sep. 2025
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Meanwhile, posing as the original customer, the swindlers cancelled the order to get a refund.—
Thomas Brewster,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Noun
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In a police photograph, Lansky stood next to racketeer Charles (Lucky) Luciano.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
3 Apr. 2025
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In the other corner: Vito Genovese, Costello’s childhood friend and fellow racketeer, who had to leave town long ago because of a thing, and has now come home to resume his place in the Mafia hierarchy.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
20 Mar. 2025
Noun
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There’s also a tropical storm circulating, as if the gangsters flew in from the tropics.—
John Metcalfe,
Mercury News,
12 Sep. 2025
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Others are new, building on a genuinely fresh and funny revelation that explains not only a cold open involving yakuza gangsters half a world away in Osaka, but also why this quaint town is sitting on a stash of weaponry big enough to overthrow the governments of several small nations.—
Katie Rife,
IndieWire,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Whereas the Star Wars sequels woefully misused the actor's talents, this movie puts them center stage, playing one of the teen hoodlums who join forces with their victim to fight off nasty, otherworldly invaders.—
Chris Snellgrove,
EW.com,
12 Aug. 2025
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However, hoodlums and thugs who throw objects at the players give up their rights and should be removed, charged, and possibly jailed.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Friends and neighbors worried that these rumors could attract dangerous young ruffians who might harm them and steal the money.—
Mara Bovsun,
New York Daily News,
15 Dec. 2024
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Then again, the fight scene did that on its own, sounding more refined than ruffian.—
Hannah Edgar,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Sep. 2024
Noun
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We’re then introduced to Louie, a thug who works for a loan shark, threatening and killing people.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
3 Sep. 2025
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Their neighbor, an older Jewish woman, gets arrested and Nazi thugs brazenly loot her apartment.—
Rabih Alameddine
September 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pickpocket.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pickpocket. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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