steal
^1
/stiːl/
1 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).
e.g.
2 intransitive + adv./prep. to move secretly and quietly so that other people do not notice you She stole out of the room so as not to wake the baby.
(figurative) A chill stole over her body.
3 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.
Idioms
steal noun
/stiːl/
(North American English)
1 (especially North American English) an act of stealing something The robbery from the Met was the greatest art steal in history.
Many people still believe the election result was a steal.
Idioms
Word Origin
Old English stelan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch stelen and German stehlen.