pilfer
[ pil-fer ]
verb (used with or without object)
to steal, especially in small quantities.
Origin of pilfer
1Other words for pilfer
Other words from pilfer
- pil·fer·er, noun
- un·pil·fered, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use pilfer in a sentence
But when one "cookee," or common man, pilfers from another, it is quite another matter.
John Rutherford, the White Chief | George Lillie CraikBut he pilfers when occasion offers, and teaches his children to lie and steal.
The Condition of the Working-Class in England in 1844 | Frederick EngelsThey say that if one thief pilfers from another, the devil laughs.
Diderot and the Encyclopdists | John Morley
British Dictionary definitions for pilfer
pilfer
/ (ˈpɪlfə) /
verb
to steal (minor items), esp in small quantities
Origin of pilfer
1C14 pylfre (n) from Old French pelfre booty; see pelf
Derived forms of pilfer
- pilferer, noun
- pilfering, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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