English Explanatory Dictionary

thief

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. One who carries out a theft.
  2. One who steals another person's property, especially by stealth and without using force or violence.
  3. A waster in the snuff of a candle.

Pronunciation

thēf /θiːf/ /θif/ En-us-thief.ogg

Word forms

thief thieves theef

Etymology

From Middle English thef, theef, þef, from Old English þēof, from Proto-West Germanic *þeub, from Proto-Germanic *þeubaz.

Synonyms

abstractor appropriator bagger booster borrower cribber faker filcher flogger heister larcener larcenist liberator lifter misappropriator nicker pincher purloiner snitch stealer tea leaf thief thiever

Related words

thieve deceiver steal theft

Derived words

a fair booty makes many a thief comparison is the thief of joy cricket thief spider horse thief joke thief joule thief liquor thief opportunity makes a thief opportunity makes the thief oxygen thief palm thief panel thief police and thief procrastination is the thief of time sampling thief set a thief to catch a thief sneak thief stop thief thick as thieves thief ant thiefdom thief in law thief in the night thief knot thieflike thiefly thief palm thief-taker thief tube thievish time thief wage thief water-thief wheat thief wine thief
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