as in thieves
a person who steals money and other things from people's pockets and purses
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Recent Examples of pickpockets
But while our bodies can develop immunity to viruses, even the savviest of travelers can fall victim to pickpockets on their travels.
—
Katie Jackson, Travel + Leisure, 24 May 2026
Arteta has been known to enlist everything from pickpockets to a naked flame to help convey his ideas to his players.
—James McNicholas, New York Times, 19 May 2026
And when the 25,000 Social Security checks worth $8 million are delivered each month, police say 80 pickpockets arrive to prey on the elderly.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2026
Katie Jackson, Travel + Leisure, 24 May 2026
Arteta has been known to enlist everything from pickpockets to a naked flame to help convey his ideas to his players.
—James McNicholas, New York Times, 19 May 2026
And when the 25,000 Social Security checks worth $8 million are delivered each month, police say 80 pickpockets arrive to prey on the elderly.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pickpockets
Noun
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Believe it or not, this extra step is enough to make most thieves move on to easier prey.—
Katie Jackson,
Travel + Leisure,
24 May 2026
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As Danny and Lena squared off against thieves, smugglers, and serial killers, Boston Blue also explored the tangled branches of the Silver family tree.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 May 2026
Noun
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Just as robbers who steal physical items usually want to unload them as quickly as possible, Redbord says cyberthieves know their time is limited.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
14 May 2026
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In at least one instance, the driver was able to fight off a gunman and force the would-be robbers to abandon their plan, prosecutors said.—
Caleb Lunetta,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 May 2026
Noun
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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
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This scam, according to Kent, could be proliferated with the use of AI, which can allow swindlers to enroll in many different college programs at once.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The characters were based on a real family of bookmakers and racketeers who once lived in England.—
Sarah Moore,
Freep.com,
5 Mar. 2026
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When Ferrara was starting out, private investment in low-budget films was spurred by tax loopholes, a way for doctors, dentists, and racketeers to get rid of extra cash that would otherwise wind up in Uncle Sam’s grubby mitts.—
Nick Pinkerton,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The vandals threw chairs and destroyed property as video showed some of them smiling and spraying security cameras with silly string.—
Robert McGreevy,
FOXNews.com,
26 May 2026
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The top of the column was broken off by vandals several years ago.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
15 May 2026
Noun
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Among a slew of criminals and gangsters populating Paramount Plus’ streaming catalog, Mobland has stood out as a hit.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
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In Gray’s taut thriller, set in 1980s Brighton Beach; the Gowanus area of Brooklyn; and Great Neck, Long Island, two brothers (Driver and Teller) fall afoul of Russian gangsters in a rapidly transforming city where high-stakes opportunities for riches also come with a high risk of life and limb.—
Jada Yuan,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2026
Noun
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In the past decade, the leadership of the Kinahan organization has become rich and cosmopolitan, and their life styles have started to resemble those of international businessmen more than of street hoodlums.—
Ed Caesar,
New Yorker,
30 Apr. 2026
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The first pictures McCullin took were of hoodlums and down-and-outs, subjects that reflected his own hardscrabble background.—
Andrew Pulver,
Air Mail,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The series has lent a cinematic gangster attraction to the Peaky Blinders, yet the term itself was not one gang — as depicted in the show — but a generic expression from the late 19th century for the ‘street ruffians’ of Birmingham, born out of the city’s ring of poverty.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
4 Apr. 2026
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In fact, the GTW ruffians have to give the Big Honey some props for his relative restraint in the heat of the moment.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
28 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pickpockets.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pickpockets. Accessed 31 May. 2026.
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