pilfer
verb /ˈpɪlfə(r)/
/ˈpɪlfər/
[intransitive, transitive]Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they pilfer | /ˈpɪlfə(r)/ /ˈpɪlfər/ |
| he / she / it pilfers | /ˈpɪlfəz/ /ˈpɪlfərz/ |
| past simple pilfered | /ˈpɪlfəd/ /ˈpɪlfərd/ |
| past participle pilfered | /ˈpɪlfəd/ /ˈpɪlfərd/ |
| -ing form pilfering | /ˈpɪlfərɪŋ/ /ˈpɪlfərɪŋ/ |
- to steal things of little value or in small quantities, especially from the place where you work
- pilfer (from somebody/something) He was caught pilfering.
- pilfer something (from somebody/something) She regularly pilfered stamps from work.
Word Originlate Middle English (as a noun in the sense ‘action of pilfering, something pilfered’): from Old French pelfrer ‘to pillage’, of unknown origin.