steal definition | Dictionary.com

steal

[steel]

,verb, stole, sto⋅len, steal⋅ing, noun

–verb (used with object)

1.	to take (the property of another or others) without permission or right, esp. secretly or by force: A pickpocket stole his watch.

2.	to appropriate (ideas, credit, words, etc.) without right or acknowledgment.

3.	to take, get, or win insidiously, surreptitiously, subtly, or by chance: He stole my girlfriend.

4.	to move, bring, convey, or put secretly or quietly; smuggle (usually fol. by away, from, in, into, etc.): They stole the bicycle into the bedroom to surprise the child.

5.	Baseball. (of a base runner) to gain (a base) without the help of a walk or batted ball, as by running to it during the delivery of a pitch.

6.	Games. to gain (a point, advantage, etc.) by strategy, chance, or luck.

7.	to gain or seize more than one's share of attention in, as by giving a superior performance: The comedian stole the show.

–verb (used without object)

8.	to commit or practice theft.

9.	to move, go, or come secretly, quietly, or unobserved: She stole out of the house at midnight.

10.	to pass, happen, etc., imperceptibly, gently, or gradually: The years steal by.

11.	Baseball. (of a base runner) to advance a base without the help of a walk or batted ball.

–noun

12.	Informal. an act of stealing; theft.

13.	Informal. the thing stolen; booty.

14.	Informal. something acquired at a cost far below its real value; bargain: This dress is a steal at $40.

15.	Baseball. the act of advancing a base by stealing.

—Idiom

16.	steal someone's thunder, to appropriate or use another's idea, plan, words, etc.

Origin:
bef. 900; 1860–65 for def. 5; ME stelen, OE stelan; c. G stehlen, ON stela, Goth stilan

Related forms:

steal⋅a⋅ble, adjective

stealer, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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steal (stēl)

v. stole (stōl), sto·len (stō'lən), steal·ing, steals

v. tr.

To take (the property of another) without right or permission.
To present or use (someone else's words or ideas) as one's own.
To get or take secretly or artfully: steal a look at a diary; steal the puck from an opponent.
To give or enjoy (a kiss) that is unexpected or unnoticed.
To draw attention unexpectedly in (an entertainment), especially by being the outstanding performer: The magician's assistant stole the show with her comic antics.
Baseball To advance safely to (another base) during the delivery of a pitch, without the aid of a base hit, walk, passed ball, or wild pitch.

v. intr.

To commit theft.
To move, happen, or elapse stealthily or unobtrusively.
Baseball To steal a base.

The act of stealing.
Slang A bargain.
Baseball A stolen base.
Basketball An act of gaining possession of the ball from an opponent.

[Middle English stelen, from Old English stelan.]
steal'er n.

Synonyms: These verbs mean to take another's property wrongfully, often surreptitiously. Steal is the most general: stole a car; steals research from colleagues.
To purloin is to make off with something, often in a breach of trust: purloined the key to his cousin's safe-deposit box.
Filch and snitch often suggest that what is stolen is of little value, while pilfer sometimes connotes theft of or in small quantities: filched towels from the hotel; snitch a cookie; pilfered fruit from the farmer.
Cop, hook, and swipe frequently connote quick, furtive snatching or seizing: copped a necklace from the counter; planning to hook a fur coat; swiped a magazine from the rack.
To lift is to take something surreptitiously and keep it for oneself: a pickpocket who lifts wallets on the subway.
Pinch suggests stealing something by or as if by picking it up between the thumb and the fingers: pinched a dollar from his mother's purse.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Steal

Steal\, n. [See Stale a handle.] A handle; a stale, or stele. [Archaic or Prov. Eng.]

And in his hand a huge poleax did bear. Whose steale was iron-studded but not long. --Spenser.

Steal

Steal\, v. t. [imp. Stole; p. p. Stolen; p. pr. & vb. n. Stealing.] [OE. stelen, AS. stelan; akin to OFries. stela, D. stelen, OHG. stelan, G. stehlen, Icel. stela, SW. stj["a]la, Dan. sti[ae]le, Goth. stilan.]

1. To take and carry away, feloniously; to take without right or leave, and with intent to keep wrongfully; as, to steal the personal goods of another.

Maugre thy heed, thou must for indigence Or steal, or borrow, thy dispense. --Chaucer.

The man who stole a goose and gave away the giblets in ?lms. --G. Eliot.

2. To withdraw or convey clandestinely (reflexive); hence, to creep furtively, or to insinuate.

They could insinuate and steal themselves under the same by their humble carriage and submission. --Spenser.

He will steal himself into a man's favor. --Shak.

3. To gain by insinuating arts or covert means.

So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. --2 Sam. xv. 6.

4. To get into one's power gradually and by imperceptible degrees; to take possession of by a gradual and imperceptible appropriation; -- with away.

Variety of objects has a tendency to steal away the mind from its steady pursuit of any subject. --I. Watts.

5. To accomplish in a concealed or unobserved manner; to try to carry out secretly; as, to steal a look.

Always, when thou changest thine opinion or course, profess it plainly, . . . and do not think to steal it. --Bacon.

To steal a march, to march in a covert way; to gain an advantage unobserved; -- formerly followed by of, but now by on or upon, and sometimes by over; as, to steal a march upon one's political rivals.

She yesterday wanted to steal a march of poor Liddy. --Smollett.

Fifty thousand men can not easily steal a march over the sea. --Walpole.

Syn: To filch; pilfer; purloin; thieve.

Steal

Steal\, v. i. 1. To practice, or be guilty of, theft; to commit larceny or theft.

Thou shalt not steal. --Ex. xx. 15.

2. To withdraw, or pass privily; to slip in, along, or away, unperceived; to go or come furtively. --Chaucer.

Fixed of mind to avoid further entreaty, and to fly all company, one night she stole away. --Sir P. Sidney.

From whom you now must steal, and take no leave. --Shak.

A soft and solemn breathing sound Rose like a steam of rich, distilled perfumes, And stole upon the air. --Milton.

Language Translation for : steal

Italian: rubare,

German: stehlen,

Japanese: 盗む

More Translations »

steal

O.E. stelan "to commit a theft" (class IV strong verb; past tense stæl, pp. stolen), from P.Gmc. *stelanan (cf. O.S. stelan, O.N., O.Fris. stela, Du. stelen, O.H.G. stelan, Ger. stehlen, Goth. stilan), of unknown origin. Most IE words for steal have roots in notions of "hide," "carry off," or "collect, heap up." Attested as a verb of stealthy motion from c.1300 (e.g. to steal away, c.1369); of glances, sighs, etc., from 1586. The noun meaning "a bargain" is Amer.Eng. colloquial attested by 1942; baseball sense of "a stolen base" is from 1867. To steal (someone) blind first recorded 1974.

Main Entry: steal
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: stole; sto·len; steal·ing
Etymology: Old English stelan
: to take or appropriate without right or consent and with intent to keep or make use of —see also ROBBERY, THEFT

Main Entry: steal
Pronunciation: 'stEl
Function: noun
: abnormal circulation characterized by deviation (as through collateral vessels or by backward flow)of blood to tissues where the normal flow of blood has been cut off by occlusion of an artery steal> steal>

steal (stēl)
n.
The diversion of blood flow from its normal course.

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