Steal Definition

stēl

stealing, steals, stole, stolen

verb

stealing, steals, stole, stolen

To be a thief; practice theft.

Webster's New World

To take or appropriate (another's property, ideas, etc.) without permission, dishonestly, or unlawfully, esp. in a secret or surreptitious manner.

Webster's New World

To get, take, or give slyly, surreptitiously, or without permission.

To steal a look, to steal a kiss.

Webster's New World

To move, pass, etc. stealthily, quietly, gradually, or without being noticed.

Webster's New World

To present or use (someone else's words or ideas) as one's own.

American Heritage

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

noun

An act of stealing.

Webster's New World

A bargain.

American Heritage

Something stolen.

Webster's New World

Something obtained at a cost so low as to be regarded as excessively favorable to the buyer.

Webster's New World

An act of gaining possession of the ball from an opponent.

American Heritage

Synonyms:

idiom

steal (someone's) thunder

To use, appropriate, or preempt the use of another's idea, especially to one's own advantage and without consent by the originator.

American Heritage

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Steal

From Middle English stelen, from Old English stelan, from Proto-Germanic *stelanÄ… (compare West Frisian stelle, Low German stehlen, Dutch stelen, German stehlen, Danish stjæle, Norwegian stjele), either from Proto-Indo-European *ster- (compare Welsh herw (“theft, raid"), Ancient Greek στερέω (stereō, “to deprive of")) or Proto-Indo-European*stel(H)- (“to stretch") (compare Albanian pÃ«/mbÃ«shtjell (“I confuse, mess up, mix, wrap up") , Old Church Slavonic [script?] (steljÇ«, “I spread out (bed, roof)"), Ancient Greek τηλία (tÄ“lía, “playing table")).

From Wiktionary
Middle English stelen from Old English stelan

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition