1
as in robbery
the unlawful taking and carrying away of property without the consent of its owner
while violent crime in the city has decreased dramatically, rates of theft and vandalism have risen slightly
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of theft
Cherfilus-McCormick is charged with 15 counts, including theft of government funds, money laundering, making and receiving straw donor contributions, and aiding and assisting the preparation of a false and fraudulent statement on a tax return.
—
Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 26 Mar. 2026
He's also spent time in prison on multiple theft and forgery charges, according to previous IndyStar reporting.
—Jordan Smith, IndyStar, 26 Mar. 2026
While Mayor Johnson declined to comment on the analysis, other Milwaukee officials said the data raises questions about how the company evaluated store performance and whether theft played as large a role in the decision to close the stores as the public believes.
—April Quevedo, jsonline.com, 26 Mar. 2026
The bureau estimated the fee hike would bring in $125 million to help restore lights across the city that have been impacted by copper wire theft or replace aging infrastructure.
—City News Service, Daily News, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for theft
Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 26 Mar. 2026
He's also spent time in prison on multiple theft and forgery charges, according to previous IndyStar reporting.
—Jordan Smith, IndyStar, 26 Mar. 2026
While Mayor Johnson declined to comment on the analysis, other Milwaukee officials said the data raises questions about how the company evaluated store performance and whether theft played as large a role in the decision to close the stores as the public believes.
—April Quevedo, jsonline.com, 26 Mar. 2026
The bureau estimated the fee hike would bring in $125 million to help restore lights across the city that have been impacted by copper wire theft or replace aging infrastructure.
—City News Service, Daily News, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for theft
Recent Examples of Synonyms for theft
Noun
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Nastasa has been arrested 38 times in New York City, with charges including robbery, criminal possession of a weapon, grand larceny, threat by phone and criminal contempt.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
2 Apr. 2026
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The play, like the movie, is loosely based on a robbery that took place in 1972, on a boiling-hot August day, when an eccentric, deep-in-debt Vietnam veteran named John Wojtowicz entered a Chase bank in Brooklyn with a gun and two accomplices, hoping for a quick score.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Many Londoners have firsthand experience of phone-snatching or have witnessed the surge in shoplifting documented by the Office for National Statistics.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
13 Jan. 2026
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Polls show that Londoners broadly feel safe in their town, although property theft, particularly phone snatching and shoplifting, has leapt up in recent years.—
Tim McDonnell,
semafor.com,
13 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Critics singled out her performance as scene-stealing.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
26 Mar. 2026
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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
Noun
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Javier Sanoja lined a double over the head of left fielder Jake McCarthy, who missed making the grab by inches.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
29 Mar. 2026
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The only question now is the final tally of Donald’s victims, mostly civilians and children, when his Middle East power grab from indiscriminate carpet-bombing comes to an end.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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An immigrant delivery man bashed unconscious during a botched four-on-one Manhattan mugging died of his injuries months later, cops said Sunday.—
Rebecca White,
New York Daily News,
15 Feb. 2026
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That was the only way to see countries' delegations backflipping and mean-mugging from places like Cortina and Livigno, sort of alternating with the parade in Milan.—
Pien Huang,
NPR,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Compared with the solitary swiping of the sports-betting apps, the blackjack table was almost Rockwellian.—
McKay Coppins,
The Atlantic,
12 Mar. 2026
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Even things that used to require a brief in-person conversation with a human being—signing in at the doctor’s office or ordering a coffee—require tapping, swiping, and scanning.—
Francesca Krempa,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Theft.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/theft. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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