pilferpil‧fer /ˈpɪlfə $ -ər/ verb [intransitive, transitive] 
Word Origin Examples
She was sacked after being caught pilfering from the till.—pilferer noun [countable]: an office pilferer—pilfering noun [uncountable]
Word OriginWORD ORIGINpilfer
Verb TableOrigin:
1300-1400 Old French pelfrer, from pelfre ‘stolen things’VERB TABLE
pilfer
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | pilfer |
| he, she, it | pilfers | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | pilfered |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have pilfered |
| he, she, it | has pilfered | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had pilfered |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will pilfer |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have pilfered |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am pilfering |
| he, she, it | is pilfering | |
| you, we, they | are pilfering | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was pilfering |
| you, we, they | were pilfering | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been pilfering |
| he, she, it | has been pilfering | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been pilfering |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be pilfering |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been pilfering |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- The farmer caught them pilfering apples from his orchard.
- The kids had been pilfering apples from a farmer's orchard in Binghamton.
- The villagers pilfered stones from ancient ruined cities to build their houses.
- Bits of Meccano lay around waiting to be pilfered if I'd had the courage.
- Old Redface had his blanket pilfered again by Little Grey Wolf.
- Once I even caught her pilfering some of my tip money to cover her own bill.
- Stamp folders should be kept under lock and key to avoid pilfering.
- They pilfer lesser-known works, usually costing less than $ 300, 000, to sell on the black market.
Longman Language Activatorto steal something► steal
to steal things that are not worth much, especially from the place where you workpilfer from to take something that does not belong to you without the owner's permission in a dishonest or illegal way: · Thousands of cars get stolen every year.· In the end he had to steal in order to survive.steal from: · drug addicts who steal from their friends and familiessteal something from: · Thieves stole paintings worth $5 million from a Paris art gallery.have something stolen: · It's strange he should have had so many things stolen in just a week.get stolen: · My grandfather refused to put his money in a bank because he was afraid it would get stolen.
► take to steal something, especially money or things that can be carried away: · Someone has been taking money from the cash box.· The burglars took our TV and stereo, but they didn't find the jewellery.
► nick/pinch British spoken to steal something: · I wonder where she got that coat -- do you think she nicked it?· Jimmy was caught pinching money from his mum's purse.
► rip off spoken to steal something, especially someone's personal possessions: rip off something: · While I was out, someone went into my hotel room and ripped off the rest of my travelers' checks.
► go off with/walk off with to steal something very easily, by picking it up and walking away with it, usually without anyone noticing: · My bag's disappeared! That woman must have walked off with it!· Guards in the lobby prevent employees from going off with computers and sensitive documents.
► help yourself to informal to steal something very easily without anyone trying to stop you: · While no one was looking Louise and Alice helped themselves to some apples and bananas.· Burglars cut through the ceiling and helped themselves to $3.6 million in jewels.
► pilfer to steal things, especially small things or things you do not think are very valuable: · The farmer caught them pilfering apples from his orchard.· The villagers pilfered stones from ancient ruined cities to build their houses.
► swipe informal to steal something quickly when someone is not looking: · While I was swimming in the river, somebody swiped all my clothes!· I wish I knew who'd swiped my earrings.
► snitch American informal to steal something, especially something small and not very valuable: · The supermarket has a problem with kids snitching candy bars off the shelves.· He watched as Grover snitched two packets of sugar from behind the counter.
She was sacked after being caught pilfering from the till.—pilferer noun [countable]: an office pilferer—pilfering noun [uncountable]