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
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
The waterproof nylon exterior includes slash-resistant lining and straps, locking clasps to secure valuables, and RFID-blocking technology to help ward off pickpockets.
—Kayla Kitts, Travel + Leisure, 27 Feb. 2026
Rafiq suspected that the anxiety suffusing the market had made any pickpockets unlikely to be scoping out potential shoppers.
—Literary Hub, 8 Jan. 2026
Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2026
The waterproof nylon exterior includes slash-resistant lining and straps, locking clasps to secure valuables, and RFID-blocking technology to help ward off pickpockets.
—Kayla Kitts, Travel + Leisure, 27 Feb. 2026
Rafiq suspected that the anxiety suffusing the market had made any pickpockets unlikely to be scoping out potential shoppers.
—Literary Hub, 8 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pickpockets
Noun
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However, throughout the speech, Milei repeatedly clashed with opposition lawmakers, calling them corrupt and thieves, and also took aim at former leftist President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who is imprisoned on corruption charges.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
2 Mar. 2026
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The thieves stole nine pieces of jewelry worth over $100 million, including items from the French crown jewels.—
Richard Johnson,
New York Daily News,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Only one piece, Empress Eugenie’s crown, has been recovered after it was dropped during the robbers’ escape.—
Richard Johnson,
New York Daily News,
1 Mar. 2026
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The group of four robbers was able to bypass security systems and used power tools to break into the Louvre to steal invaluable jewels once worn by France’s queens and empresses, officials told NBC News after the robbery.—
Babak Dehghanpisheh,
NBC news,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
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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
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Good afternoon and welcome to Con Con, the convention for swindlers, mountebanks, and the people who love them.—
Henry Alford,
New Yorker,
1 Dec. 2025
Noun
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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 site attracted vandals and groups of as many as 40 loiterers at a time before its parking lot was fenced off.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
3 Mar. 2026
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Whether the cleaning and maintenance serves as a long-term deterrent to vandals and other trespassers remains to be seen.—
Noah Lyons,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In retaliation, gangsters took to the streets to light vehicles and businesses on fire, carjack cars and buses, and cause mayhem across multiple states.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
23 Feb. 2026
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Now, all Addison can tell us is that the show begins with two young Dubliners who are looking for treasure and are on the run from gangsters.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
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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
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Aleah and Grasso end up saving Lizzie’s ass and capturing the hoodlums.—
Grace Byron,
Vulture,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
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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
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Ciri, unbeknowest to her surrogate ma and pa, is free of her Nilfgaardian captors and on the run with a band of adolescent ruffians, and perhaps figuring out how to take care of herself.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pickpockets.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pickpockets. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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