ENGLISH
REFERENCE

stolen

v. · adj.
US //ˈstoʊɫən// UK //stˈəʊlən// stolen
  1. 1 past participle of steal (v.)
    A2 Elementary

    the form of 'steal' used after 'have' or 'be'.

    the past participle of the irregular verb 'steal', used to form the perfect tenses and the passive voice.

    Example

    The police discovered that the car had been stolen two days ago.

    Example

    By the time the museum staff arrived for their morning shift, the most valuable painting in the collection had already been stolen.

    Usage

    Requires an auxiliary verb like 'have' or 'be' when used as a verb.
    Pitfall
    Someone has stole my bike.
    Someone has stolen my bike.

    Use 'stolen' with 'have' or 'has'. 'Stole' is only for the simple past tense without a helping verb.

  2. 2 taken illegally (adj.)
    A2 Elementary

    describes something that was taken without the owner's permission.

    referring to property or items that have been taken unlawfully from the rightful owner.

    Example

    He was arrested for trying to sell a stolen laptop at the market.

    Example

    The authorities worked tirelessly to track the stolen artifacts across international borders before they could be sold to private collectors.
Origin

From Middle English stolen, istolen, from Old English stolen, ġestolen, from Proto-Germanic stulanaz, past participle of Proto-Germanic stelaną (“to steal”), equivalent to stole + -en. Cognate with Scots stellin, stollin (“stolen”), Saterland Frisian stäälen (“stolen”), West Frisian stellen (“stolen”), Dutch gestolen (“stolen”), German Low German stohlen (“stolen”), German gestohlen (“stolen”), Swedish stulen (“stolen”).

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