Nearby Words
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verb (used with object)
1.
to take (the property of another or others) without permission or right, especially 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 followed by away, from, in, into, etc.): They stole the bicycle into the bedroom to surprise the child.
5.
EXPANDBaseball. (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.
COLLAPSEto 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
Idiom12.
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.
16.
steal someone's thunder, to appropriate or use another's idea, plan, words, etc.
Origin:
before 900; 1860–65 for def. 5; Middle English stelen, Old English stelan; cognate with German stehlen, Old Norse stela, Gothic stilan
before 900; 1860–65 for def. 5; Middle English stelen, Old English stelan; cognate with German stehlen, Old Norse stela, Gothic stilan
Related forms
steal·a·ble, adjective
steal·er, noun
non·steal·a·ble, adjective
out·steal, verb (used with object), -stole, -sto·len, -steal·ing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To stealing
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
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,
EXPANDheap 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.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
steal (stēl)
n.
The diversion of blood flow from its normal course.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Easton
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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