heist
/hʌɪst
/informal
noun
A robbery: a diamond heist...
- Bank robberies, cash-in-transit heists, petty crime and road accidents are all declining in the City of Johannesburg.
- The heist began with the robbers deliberately setting off the alarm system and retreating into bushes.
- A highly skilled thief is blackmailed into pulling a diamond heist when his daughter is kidnapped by an international terrorist.
verb [with object] North American
Steal: he heisted a Pontiac...
- When thieves heisted a car rented to cricket-star Brian Lara and the perpetrators discovered his bat in the vehicle, they returned it.
- The brothers who own the house became part of the city's nouveau riche when they heisted a bank during the looting.
- Disguises are assumed, safes are blown, millions of dollars are heisted according to a completely new and clever scheme, but this is pure escapism.
Origin
Mid 19th century (originally US): representing a local pronunciation of hoist.