steal
verb /stiːl/
/stiːl/
Verb Forms
Idioms | present simple I / you / we / they steal | /stiːl/ /stiːl/ |
| he / she / it steals | /stiːlz/ /stiːlz/ |
| past simple stole | /stəʊl/ /stəʊl/ |
| past participle stolen | /ˈstəʊlən/ /ˈstəʊlən/ |
| -ing form stealing | /ˈstiːlɪŋ/ /ˈstiːlɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] to take something from a person, shop, etc. without permission and without intending to return it or pay for it
- I'll report you to the police if I catch you stealing again.
- steal from somebody/something We found out he'd been stealing from us for years.
- steal something My wallet was stolen.
- I had my wallet stolen.
- Thieves stole jewellery worth over £10 000.
- steal something from somebody/something He stole a car from the parking lot of a mall.
- It's a crime to handle stolen goods.
- He was charged with possession of stolen property.
- (figurative) to steal somebody’s ideas
- (figurative) They accused the president of stealing the election (= winning it by cheating).
Homophones steal | steelsteal steel/stiːl//stiːl/- steal verb
- Lock your bike up so that nobody can steal it.
- steel noun
- The best kitchen knives are made from stainless steel.
- steel verb
- They had to steel themselves to watch their cherished work being destroyed.
Collocations CrimeCrimeCommitting a crimeTopics Crime and punishmenta2- commit a crime/a murder/a violent assault/a brutal killing/an armed robbery/fraud
- be involved in terrorism/a suspected arson attack/people smuggling/human trafficking
- engage/participate in criminal activity/illegal practices/acts of mindless vandalism
- steal somebody’s wallet/purse/(British English) mobile phone/(North American English) cell phone
- rob a bank/a person/a tourist
- break into/ (British English) burgle/ (North American English) burglarize a house/a home/an apartment
- hijack a plane/ship/bus
- smuggle drugs/weapons/arms/immigrants
- launder drug money (through something)
- forge documents/certificates/passports
- take/accept/pay somebody/offer (somebody) a bribe
- run a phishing/an email/an internet scam
- combat/fight crime/terrorism/corruption/drug trafficking
- prevent/stop credit-card fraud/child abuse/software piracy
- deter/stop criminals/burglars/thieves/shoplifters/vandals
- reduce/tackle/crack down on knife/gun/violent/street crime; (especially British English) antisocial behaviour
- foil a bank raid/a terrorist plot
- help/support/protect the victims of crime
- report a crime/a theft/a rape/an attack/(especially British English) an incident to the police
- witness the crime/attack/murder/incident
- investigate a murder/(especially North American English) a homicide/a burglary/a robbery/the alleged incident
- conduct/launch/pursue an investigation (into…); (especially British English) a police/murder inquiry
- investigate/reopen a criminal/murder case
- examine/investigate/find fingerprints at the crime scene/the scene of crime
- collect/gather forensic evidence
- uncover new evidence/a fraud/a scam/a plot/a conspiracy/political corruption/a cache of weapons
- describe/identify a suspect/the culprit/the perpetrator/the assailant/the attacker
- question/interrogate a suspect/witness
- solve/crack the case
- [intransitive] + adv./prep. to move secretly and quietly so that other people do not notice you synonym creep
- She stole out of the room so as not to wake the baby.
- (figurative) A chill stole over her body.
- [transitive] steal something (in baseball) to run to the next base before another player from your team hits the ball, so that you are closer to scoring
- He tried to steal second base but was out.
Word OriginOld English stelan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch stelen and German stehlen.
Idioms
steal a glance/look (at somebody/something)
- to look at somebody/something quickly so that nobody sees you doing it
steal somebody’s heart
- (literary) to make somebody fall in love with youTopics Feelingsc2
steal a kiss (from somebody)
- (literary) to kiss somebody suddenly or secretly
steal a march (on somebody)
- [no passive] to gain an advantage over somebody by doing something before them
- The company is looking at ways to steal a march on its European competitors.
steal the show
- [no passive] to attract more attention and praise than other people in a particular situation
- As always, the children stole the show.
- British bands stole the show at this year’s awards.
steal somebody’s thunder
- to get the attention, success, etc. that somebody else was expecting, usually by saying or doing what they had intended to say or doTopics Successc2