shoplifting
n.the act of stealing goods from a store without paying for them. It is a crime that happens when someone takes items and leaves without paying.
n.the act of stealing goods from a retail establishment without paying for them. Often used in legal contexts to distinguish the crime from other forms of theft.
“The shoplifting alarm went off as the customer walked out.”
“The store installed new cameras to catch shoplifting and protect its inventory from loss.”
“While shoplifting is often viewed as a minor offense by the public, it represents a significant financial burden for retailers, leading to increased prices for honest customers.”
By surface analysis, shoplift + -ing. The noun sense (from 1690) predates the verb.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.