steal
- 01 A2 Elementary
v.to take something that belongs to someone else without permission and with no plan to return it.
v.to take property belonging to another person without right or permission, intending to keep it permanently.
Simple“Someone tried to steal my bicycle while I was inside the shop.”
In context“The thieves managed to steal several high-value paintings from the gallery before the security team could respond to the silent alarm.”
PitfallHe stole the bank yesterday. He robbed the bank yesterday.You 'steal' an object (money, a car), but you 'rob' a person or a place (a bank, a shop).
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to move very quietly and secretly so that nobody sees or hears you.
v.to move silently or surreptitiously, often to avoid detection.
Simple“She tried to steal out of the house without waking her parents.”
In context“He managed to steal into the library unnoticed, hoping to find the documents before the morning staff arrived.”
- 03 B1 Intermediate
v.to use someone else's ideas, words, or jokes and pretend they are your own.
v.to appropriate ideas, credit, or creative work without acknowledgement.
Simple“It is not fair to steal your classmate's ideas for your own project.”
In context“The comedian was accused of stealing jokes from smaller performers and using them in his televised special.”
SynonymsAntonyms - 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to look at something quickly and secretly.
v.to perform an action, such as looking or kissing, in a quick and surreptitious manner.
Simple“He tried to steal a glance at her phone to see who was calling.”
In context“During the long meeting, she occasionally stole a look at the clock, counting the minutes until she could leave.”
Synonyms - 05 B1 Intermediate
n.something that is sold at such a low price that it feels like you are taking it for free.
n.an item purchased at a price significantly below its perceived or market value.
Simple“At only ten dollars, this designer jacket is an absolute steal.”
In context“The vintage camera was a steal at the local flea market, especially considering it was still in perfect working condition.”
- 06 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.an act of taking the ball away from the other team during a game.
n.the act of a defensive player legally gaining possession of the ball or puck from an opponent.
Simple“The defender made a brilliant steal and ran to the other end of the court.”
In context“His record-breaking number of steals during the season made him a top candidate for the league's defensive player of the year award.”
Synonyms
steal vs rob — Steal focuses on the object taken; rob focuses on the victim or location targeted.
Usage steal men's
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *stelaną Proto-West Germanic *stelan Old English stelan Middle English stelen English steal Inherited from Middle English stelen, from Old English stelan, from Proto-West Germanic stelan, from Proto-Germanic stelaną. Cognate with Bavarian stöhn (“to steal”), Dutch stelen (“to steal”), German, Low German stehlen (“to steal”), Luxembourgish stielen (“to steal”), Danish stjæle (“to steal”), Faroese stjala (“to steal”), Icelandic stela (“to steal”), Norwegian Bokmål stjele (“to steal”), Norwegian Nynorsk stela, stele (“to steal”), Swedish stjäla (“to steal”), Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌹𐌻𐌰𐌽 (stilan, “to steal”). For the meaning development compare with Russian красть (krastʹ, “to steal”) and Russian кра́сться (krástʹsja, “to stalk, to prowl, to slink”). etymology notes Proposed etymologies beyond Germanic are numerous and include Proto-Indo-European ster-: compare Welsh herw (“theft, raid”), Ancient Greek στερέω (steréō, “to deprive of”) Proto-Indo-European stel(H)- (“to stretch”): compare Albanian pë/mbështjell (“I confuse, mess up, mix, wrap up”), Old Church Slavonic стєлѭ (steljǫ, “I spread out (bed, roof)”), Ancient Greek τηλία (tēlía, “playing table”) Proto-Indo-European tsel- (“to sneak”): compare Sanskrit त्सरति (tsárati, “creep, sneak up on”) and other forms under Pokorny 5. *sel- "schleichen, kriechen"
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.