as in stole
to take (something) without right and with an intent to keep
what sort of person would pilfer lunches from the office refrigerator?
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Recent Examples of pilfered
This is not the first time public art has been pilfered in San Jose.
—
Jason Green, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025
Every detail is pilfered from the lives of people around me, or from my own.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 15 Oct. 2025
The customer records were pilfered in a July breach.
—Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2025
Small bulbs like crocus are probably the most commonly pilfered.
—Paul Cappiello, Louisville Courier Journal, 10 Oct. 2025
The tale is pilfered from the Aeneid, but Virgil would blench to see the curtain rise on Jupiter, dandling Ganymede, a beautiful boy, upon his knee.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Though proceeds have boosted the country’s economy, some opposition leaders say much of it has been wasted or pilfered.
—Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 7 Sep. 2025
Jason Green, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025
Every detail is pilfered from the lives of people around me, or from my own.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 15 Oct. 2025
The customer records were pilfered in a July breach.
—Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2025
Small bulbs like crocus are probably the most commonly pilfered.
—Paul Cappiello, Louisville Courier Journal, 10 Oct. 2025
The tale is pilfered from the Aeneid, but Virgil would blench to see the curtain rise on Jupiter, dandling Ganymede, a beautiful boy, upon his knee.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Though proceeds have boosted the country’s economy, some opposition leaders say much of it has been wasted or pilfered.
—Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 7 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pilfered
Verb
-
Just hours before the thieves quietly stole the historic coins, four chainsaw-wielding thieves broke into the Louvre Museum in Paris using a ladder boosted by a mechanical boom truck to force a window open at the famed museum and steal millions of dollars worth of jewelry.—
Desiree Anello,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
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Boasting a skinny heel and pointy toe, Williams’ patent leather heels stole the spotlight at the event, which was held at the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo, Spain.—
Kelsey Stewart,
Footwear News,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In 2023, a statue of a warrior riding a horse that symbolizes the sister city relationship between San Jose and Pune, India, was swiped from Guadalupe River Park.—
Jason Green,
Mercury News,
22 Oct. 2025
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Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa has been under glass since the 1950s, but not so in 1911, when Vincenzo Perrugia, a former museum staffer, hid in a cupboard overnight, then swiped what is now the world’s most famous painting and walked out with it under his coat.—
Sophie Friedman,
AFAR Media,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pilfered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pilfered. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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