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theft

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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English

Etymology

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

Noun

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?‎, 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, 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

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Further reading

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Middle English

Noun

theft

  1. alternative form of thefte

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