Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun One who commits the act or crime of theft.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The bramble Rubus fruticosus. Compare
theve-thorn . - noun A person who steals, or is guilty of larceny or robbery; one who takes the goods or property of another without the owner's knowledge or consent; especially, one who deprives another of property secretly or without open force, as opposed to a robber, who openly uses violence.
- noun A person guilty of cunning or deceitful acts; a lawless person; an evil-doer: used in reproach.
- noun An imperfection in the wick of a candle, causing it to gutter.
- noun A tin can to which a small line or becket is attached, used as a drinking-cup by sailors. It is made heavier on one side, so that it will capsize when it is dropped in the water.
- noun A thief-tube.
- noun Same as
hermit-crab . - noun Synonyms Pilferer, Pirate (see
robber ), pickpocket, cutpurse. Seepillage , n.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun One who steals; one who commits theft or larceny. See
theft . - noun A waster in the snuff of a candle.
- noun Same as
Thief taker . - noun one who leads or takes away a thief.
- noun one whose business is to find and capture thieves and bring them to justice.
- noun a tube for withdrawing a sample of a liquid from a cask.
- noun [Eng.] a kind of aromatic vinegar for the sick room, taking its name from the story that thieves, by using it, were enabled to plunder, with impunity to health, in the great plague at London.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun One who has
carried out atheft . - noun obsolete A
waster in thesnuff of acandle .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Between thief and -- there was no word for what he and Warvia were now, but every hominid knew the word _thief_.
The Ringworld Throne Niven, Larry 1996
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Yet, if this paper was a connecting link between her stolen manuscript and the thief, _who was the thief_?
Ruth Fielding Down East Or, The Hermit of Beach Plum Point Alice B. Emerson
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When it was proved that _you_ stole my father's horse; that _you_ are responsible for the absence of Mr. Hadley; that _you_ pointed the knife and the pistol at his heart, and then mendaciously represented him as the thief and kidnapper who is found in your own person; then, sir, would you vail your face and go out no more among men, but upon your forehead, as _now_ upon your soul, would be the brand of _thief_, _robber_, _murderer_!
Eveline Mandeville The Horse Thief Rival Alvin Addison
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a distinct proposal now that the thief and the justice shall change places on the spot -- with the inquiry as to which is _the justice_, and which is the _thief_, openly started -- one would almost fancy that the subject had been exhausted here, or would be, if these indications should be followed up.
The Philosophy of the Plays of Shakspere Unfolded Delia Bacon 1835
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You led in the song, we tagged behind you and sang the refrain, “a thief is a cheat”, as we humiliated them round the entire Ubaha.
chidozie chukwubuike | the decoration « poetry dispatch & other notes from the underground 2009
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The youths took up the chant ‘a thief is a cheat’, and Chief Nwakibie sluggishly danced along.
chidozie chukwubuike | the decoration « poetry dispatch & other notes from the underground 2009
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Why becoming a data thief is all too easy - USATODAY. com
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The youths took up the chant ‘a thief is a cheat’, and Chief Nwakibie sluggishly danced along.
July « 2009 « poetry dispatch & other notes from the underground 2009
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A thief is a thief is a thief, we don't need another one in congress, its full of them already.
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Later, the viewer (but not Chuck) discovers that the thief is actually Sarah in disguise, who works as an agent for the CIA.
Chuck: The Complete Second Season » DVDs Worth Watching 2010
bilby commented on the word thief
I say that no one in this caravan is awake
and that while you sleep, a thief is stealing
the signs and symbols of what you thought
was your life. Now you're angry with me for
telling you this! Pay attention to those who
hurt your feelings telling you the truth.
- Rumi, 'Ghazal 1134', version by Coleman Barks with Nevit Ergin in 'The Glance'.
October 17, 2008