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theft

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English theft, thefte, þefte, þefþe, þiefþe, Old English þīefþ, from Proto-West Germanic *þiubiþu, from Proto-Germanic *þiubiþō, from *þeubaz (“thief”), equivalent to thief or thieve +‎ -t (abstract nominal suffix). Cognate with Old Frisian thiuvethe, thiufthe (“theft”), dialectal Dutch diefte (“theft”), obsolete German Diebde (“theft”), Icelandic þýfð (“theft”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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theft (countable and uncountable, plural thefts)

  1. The act of stealing property.
    Hyponyms: robbery, conquest
    resource theft
    Bike theft is on the rise.
    A suspect was arrested for the theft of a gold necklace.
    • 2007 July 5, Charles Hugh Smith, When Lies Become Normal, Is Truth Dead or Just in Hiding?‎[1], archived from the original on 12 February 2025:
      If you steal a candy bar, you are guilty of theft, regardless of the value. You can't fudge the theft by saying, "But it was only a candy bar," or "I didn't steal it from a person, but from a rich corporation," or "Everyone steals from the government."
    • 2009 February 15, Judith Martin, “It Started in Naples”, in The New York Times‎[2], archived from the original on 16 June 2022:
      That last problem did intrude on Hazzard’s roamings, and when she refers to the living city it is with periodic references to thefts of cars and wallets, with a warning not to carry anything “snatchable” by the thieves on motorcycles who whiz through the streets.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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Further reading

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Middle English

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Noun

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theft

  1. alternative form of thefte
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