BURGLARY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does burglary mean? 

• BURGLARY (noun)
  The noun BURGLARY has 1 sense:

1. entering a building unlawfully with intent to commit a felony or to steal valuable property

  Familiarity information: BURGLARY used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BURGLARY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Entering a building unlawfully with intent to commit a felony or to steal valuable property

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("burglary" is a kind of...):

felony (a serious crime (such as murder or arson))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "burglary"):

break-in; breaking and entering; housebreaking (trespassing for an unlawful purpose; illegal entrance into premises with criminal intent)

Derivation:

burglarious (involving or resembling burglary)

burglarize; burgle (commit a burglary; enter and rob a dwelling)

 Context examples 

It will be a mighty different thing to commit burglary in Piccadilly, either by day or night.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Having found nothing they tried to divert suspicion by making it appear to be an ordinary burglary, to which end they carried off whatever they could lay their hands upon.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The professional shook his head over our confessed burglary.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But then, when the man commits burglary in order to break images which are not his own, that brings it away from the doctor and on to the policeman.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He was accompanied by a little elderly gentleman, who was introduced to me as the Mr. Acton whose house had been the scene of the original burglary.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This burglary business is getting serious; we got off once all right; but we have now a rare job on hand—unless we can find the Count's key basket.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Burglary!

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

To get at this, I endeavoured first of all to solve the reason of the original burglary at Mr. Acton’s.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I suppose he wants to find out some clue as to the burglary last night, if a burglar it was.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

His talk about a burglary was the merest blind.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)