shop stealer

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A shoplifter.

Pronunciation

en-au-shop stealer.ogg

Word forms

shop stealer shop stealers shopstealer shop-stealer

Etymology

Unclear, but ultimately from shoplifter (which predates the verb shoplift). Structurally, shop steal + -er, but perhaps more likely is that both verb and agent noun forms were coined around the same time by alteration of shoplift / shoplifter to carry the nuanced greater emphasis on theft.

Related words

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