Synonyms of stealing

stealing 1 of 2

noun

as in robbery

the unlawful taking and carrying away of property without the consent of its owner

in those days the stealing of a horse was a very serious crime

Synonyms & Similar Words

• robbery
• theft
• larceny
• kidnapping
• thievery
• burglary
• pilfering
• smuggling
• embezzlement
• abduction
• embezzling
• misappropriation
• shoplifting
• graft
• hijacking
• plundering
• looting
• rustling
• pilferage
• housebreaking
• peculation
• misapplication
• petit larceny
• filching
• piracy
• petty larceny
• poaching
• pillage
• purloining
• carjacking
• spoliation
• rapine
• despoliation
• banditry
• shanghaiing
• despoilment
• black marketeering

stealing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of steal

1

as in swiping

to take (something) without right and with an intent to keep

the guy who tried to steal my car was sentenced to a year in jail

Synonyms & Similar Words

• swiping
• robbing
• pilfering
• grabbing
• snatching
• lifting
• filching
• thieving
• appropriating
• misappropriating
• purloining
• pocketing
• nicking
• pinching
• snitching
• hijacking
• hooking
• nipping
• boosting
• ripping off
• picking
• seizing
• taking
• heisting
• plundering
• running off with
• making off with
• looting
• making away with
• burglarizing
• pillaging
• walking off with
• sacking
• shoplifting
• knocking over
• poaching
• grasping
• kidnapping
• abducting
• rustling
• rifling
• nailing
• carjacking
• mooching
• collaring
• sponging
• spiriting
• shanghaiing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• buying
• purchasing
• giving
• presenting
• contributing
• donating
• bestowing
• handing over

2

as in sneaking

to move about in a sly or secret manner

the teenagers were able to steal past a security guard and enter the fairgrounds without paying admission

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sneaking
• lurking
• slipping
• sliding
• crawling
• slinking
• skulking
• shirking
• snaking
• creeping
• tiptoeing
• mooching
• mousing
• pussyfooting
• edging
• inching
• padding
• worming
• ghosting

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of stealing

Noun

Garcia drove home Michael Massey after the latter made a pair of smart baserunning plays, including a stealing of third and tagging up on Garcia’s shallow fly ball to center. —Kansas City Star, 3 May 2026

The Commissioner issues his findings in his investigation into allegations of sign-stealing by the 2018 Boston Red Sox, in the wake of a similar investigation into the illicit doings of the 2017 Houston Astros. —Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026

To no one’s surprise, Axios reported last week that Republicans have the gall to consider more stealing from health care and day care to pay for a budget bill containing as much as $200 billion to fund the Iran war and immigration enforcement. —Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 9 Apr. 2026

Critics singled out her performance as scene-stealing. —Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 26 Mar. 2026

By this token, the politician who steals scraps of another’s rhetoric (even if the actual stealing is performed by speechwriters) is derided as if he had been found watching pornography. —Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2026

The Bible teaches that lying, stealing, adultery and coveting your neighbor’s property are sins. —Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 16 Mar. 2026

Base running isn’t confined to base stealing, either. —Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 13 Mar. 2026

Former Michigan linebackers coach Chris Partridge is suing the university, its board of regents and athletic director Warde Manuel for firing him in 2023 while the NCAA investigated allegations of in-person scouting and sign-stealing. —CBS News, 12 Mar. 2026

Verb

Officials say the ring targeted vulnerable residents by forging documents, stealing personal information about the real owners and arranging the sales of the properties. —Amethyst Martinez, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2026

There's a long way to go before the season gets here and stealing the spotlight on Thursday night during the draft doesn’t guarantee anything. —Sean Joseph Outkick, FOXNews.com, 28 Apr. 2026

The second cooperator, who faced charges in an unrelated case, backed up JM’s account in 2002, telling prosecutors that JM wanted Felix dead for stealing money from him on the job. —Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 28 Apr. 2026

The most significant federal fraud investigation in the Twin Cities has focused on Feeding Our Future, a nonprofit accused of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding. —Andy Rose, CNN Money, 28 Apr. 2026

The Philadelphia Eagles swooped in, trading up to the 20th pick and stealing him. —Mike Defabo, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026

Anthony Mattox, 46, faces charges of second-degree murder and stealing in the hit-and-run on July 17, 2024, that left one man dead, according to a criminal complaint filed in Jackson County court Friday. —Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 27 Apr. 2026

The memorandum claimed that the defendant had prior convictions for burglary in the 3rd degree, admitting to entering high school classmates' homes and stealing their underwear and possession of child pornography. —Chiara Kim, PEOPLE, 27 Apr. 2026

After the rally, people went to a Mexican restaurant close by, seeming to forget talk of Mexican migrants stealing jobs. —Nataliya Gumenyuk, The Dial, 21 Apr. 2026