as in pilferage
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as in stealing
to take (something) without right and with an intent to keep
what sort of person would pilfer lunches from the office refrigerator?
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pilfering
Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 26 Dec. 2025
Earlier this week the company filed a lawsuit against a group of data-scraping companies for allegedly pilfering its content and selling it to Perplexity.
—Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 24 Oct. 2025
And not the two sets of federal indictments against him for pilfering classified documents and then refusing to return them and for defrauding the United States.
—Jeff Robbins, Oc Register, 20 Oct. 2025
Seven people are locked up for running a theft ring that included pilfering more than $800,000 in smoke detectors from Home Depot stores across Florida — including Miami-Dade, according to Attorney General James Uthmeier.
—Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2025
This, above, was the first of Naeher’s career on her 200th NWSL outing, pilfering a 3-3 draw (from three down, on the road) against Seattle Reign.
—Phil Hay, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
Verb
Season 5, meanwhile, has noticeably flattened its ensemble, leaning on simplistic personality traits and pilfering from previous arcs.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 26 Dec. 2025
Earlier this week the company filed a lawsuit against a group of data-scraping companies for allegedly pilfering its content and selling it to Perplexity.
—Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 24 Oct. 2025
And not the two sets of federal indictments against him for pilfering classified documents and then refusing to return them and for defrauding the United States.
—Jeff Robbins, Oc Register, 20 Oct. 2025
Seven people are locked up for running a theft ring that included pilfering more than $800,000 in smoke detectors from Home Depot stores across Florida — including Miami-Dade, according to Attorney General James Uthmeier.
—Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2025
This, above, was the first of Naeher’s career on her 200th NWSL outing, pilfering a 3-3 draw (from three down, on the road) against Seattle Reign.
—Phil Hay, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pilfering
Verb
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Moody was all alone on his way to an easy dunk in overtime after stealing the ball from Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
24 Mar. 2026
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And in 2022, Xiang Haitao, admitted to stealing a trade secret from Monsanto.—
Lisa Song,
ProPublica,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Crimes against property, such as shoplifting, arson, embezzlement and identity theft, are overall down 6%, though shoplifting and embezzlement increased.—
Camryn Dadey,
Sacbee.com,
28 Mar. 2026
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Following an arrest for shoplifting in Chicago, Medina was released on June 19, 2023, DHS said.—
Adam Sabes,
FOXNews.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Safiullah Manzoor, 43, of Walnut Creek, who was arrested March 11, is charged with a felony count of embezzlement over time.—
Harry Harris,
Mercury News,
21 Mar. 2026
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The welfare scandal came to light in 2020 when the former director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, John Davis, was indicted on fraud and embezzlement charges alongside several others, including DiBiase's brother, former pro wrestler Brett DiBiase.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Detectives have not determined if he is connected to last week's kidnapping in the same general area.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
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In November, the board granted parole to Gregory Lee Vogelsang, who was convicted in August 1999 of more than two dozen child molestation and kidnapping charges involving five boys.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The role of Israel's hijacking of Iran’s street cameras in the killing of the country’s supreme leader underscores how surveillance systems are increasingly being targeted by adversaries in wartime.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Mar. 2026
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The hijacking sparked a dramatic police chase that ended in a rush-hour shootout when the truck became stuck in traffic on the busy Miramar Parkway.—
CBS Miami Team,
CBS News,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Some have traveled farther as part of colonial-era collections — as far as the British Museum — and been returned; a story unto itself about the plundering of the natural world in the age of empire, and institutions reckoning with their inheritance.—
Tom Page,
CNN Money,
19 Mar. 2026
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Living through the aftermath of Rome’s plundering in 410 by the Visigoths, Augustine keenly appreciated the fact that empires come and go.—
Brett Whalen,
The Conversation,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Gastineau raises several claims, including breach of contract and misappropriation of his NIL.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
23 Mar. 2026
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Jurors in that case were told about the Lion Air misappropriation.—
Richard Winton,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pilfering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pilfering. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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