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thieves - 4 dictionary results

thief

  [theef]
Use thieves in a Sentence
–noun, plural thieves.
a person who steals, esp. secretly or without open force; one guilty of theft or larceny.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE thēof; c. D dief, G Dieb, ON thjōfr, Goth thiufs

Synonyms:
burglar, pickpocket, highwayman. Thief, robber refer to one who steals. A thief takes the goods or property of another by stealth without the latter's knowledge: like a thief in the night. A robber trespasses upon the house, property, or person of another, and makes away with things of value, even at the cost of violence: A robber held up two women on the street.

thieve

  [theev] ,verb, thieved, thiev⋅ing.
–verb (used with object)
1. to take by theft; steal.
–verb (used without object)
2. to act as a thief; commit theft; steal.
Origin:
bef. 950; OE thēofian, deriv. of theōf thief (not recorded in ME)

Related forms:
thiev⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To thieves
thief   (thēf)   
n.   pl. thieves (thēvz)
One who steals, especially by stealth.

[Middle English, from Old English thēof.]
thieve   (thēv)   
tr. & intr.v.   thieved, thiev·ing, thieves
To take (something) by theft or commit theft.

[Perhaps from Old English thēofian, from thēof, thief.]
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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