THIEF (thieves)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: thieves   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does thief mean? 

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

1. a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it

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

 Dictionary entry details 

• THIEF (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

stealer; thief

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

criminal; crook; felon; malefactor; outlaw (someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime)

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

larcener; larcenist (a person who commits larceny)

pilferer; sneak thief; snitcher (a thief who steals without using violence)

snatcher (a thief who grabs and runs)

cracksman; safebreaker; safecracker (a thief who breaks open safes to steal valuable contents)

cattle thief; rustler (someone who steals livestock (especially cattle))

robber (a thief who steals from someone by threatening violence)

despoiler; freebooter; looter; pillager; plunderer; raider; spoiler (someone who takes spoils or plunder (as in war))

literary pirate; pirate; plagiariser; plagiarist; plagiarizer (someone who uses another person's words or ideas as if they were his own)

cutpurse; dip; pickpocket (a thief who steals from the pockets or purses of others in public places)

bandit; brigand (an armed thief who is (usually) a member of a band)

holdup man; stickup man (an armed thief)

graverobber (someone who steals valuables from graves or crypts)

body snatcher; ghoul; graverobber (someone who takes bodies from graves and sells them for anatomical dissection)

defalcator; embezzler; peculator (someone who violates a trust by taking (money) for his own use)

dacoit; dakoit (a member of an armed gang of robbers)

burglar (a thief who enters a building with intent to steal)

booster; lifter; shoplifter (a thief who steals goods that are in a store)

 Context examples 

If you think I’m a thief, just keep it to yerself, or you’ll find ’ow bloody well mistyken you are.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Nothing that would help a thief.

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

Then, said the man, go with me, and I will teach you to become the cunningest thief that ever was.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

For myself, I don’t believe it was an ordinary thief.

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

‘Yes, thief!’ I roared, shaking him by the shoulder.

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

“Some thief has stolen the books!”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Prevented from obtaining his share of meat and fish when a general feed was given to the camp-dogs, he became a clever thief.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

At the first breath of suspicion you, my intimate friend, the man who knew me best, set me down as a thief and a murderer.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

They are twin thieves who live upon our labor.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He followed the man, reached the window, saw the abstraction of the documents, and pursued the thief.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)