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

Correa was the most vocal Astro to defend their title after the sign-stealing was discovered. —Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026

The daughter of a Marxist revolutionary, Rodríguez relentlessly defended the Maduro regime against accusations of drug-trafficking and election-stealing. —Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 5 Jan. 2026

When the two students were in the bathroom, an argument allegedly ensued about a THC vape pen Matthews accused Meismer of stealing, prosecutors said, ABC 13 reports. —Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 22 Dec. 2025

If there were no laws against stealing, who would steal? —NBC news, 14 Dec. 2025

Moore played a pivotal role during the 2023 season, filling in as head coach for four games when Harbaugh was suspended twice amid the NCAA's investigation into recruiting infractions and sign-stealing. —Dejanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 13 Dec. 2025

Moore found himself in controversy during the investigation into Michigan’s potential sign-stealing, but this controversy trumps them all. —Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 11 Dec. 2025

Some cats obsess with stealing. —Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Nov. 2025

Those smile-stealing, off-the-cuff camcorder moments make what could have been a stale documentary into a much more personal portrait of the singer, who was killed in 1995. —Sofía Hanalei Sanchez, CNN Money, 16 Nov. 2025

Verb

In a decision filed last week in Fulton County Superior Court, District Attorney Fani Willis said there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute Patty Durand for stealing trade secrets, which is a felony. —CBS News, 28 Jan. 2026

Portland cut it to single digits early in the fourth with a pair of at-the-rim makes by Robert Williams III, the second of which Holiday set up by stealing an errant White pass. —Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 27 Jan. 2026

Jaxson Hayes delivered the final body blow, throwing down an Eastbay dunk in transition after stealing the ball from Josh Giddey to put the Lakers up by 14 with just under three minutes remaining. —Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 27 Jan. 2026

At the time, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Gutierrez was accused of stealing FBI body armor and weapons and noted his alleged history of violent crimes. —Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 26 Jan. 2026

Percy Jackson and the Olympians follows Percy (Walker Scobell), the demigod son of Poseidon whom Zeus accuses of stealing his Master Bolt. —Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Jan. 2026

In early 2019, about nine months before his arrest for the murders, his ex-girlfriend accused him of stealing her laptop and cellphone, kidnapping and raping her. —Yasmeen Hamadeh, PEOPLE, 21 Jan. 2026

Beltran, who played for seven teams, was scarred by the Houston Astros’ sign stealing scandal in 2017 – his last year as a player – and took four times to be elected because of it. —Barry M. Bloom, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026

Someone caught stealing should have a hand cut off. —Literary Hub, 20 Jan. 2026