v., stole (stōl), sto·len (stō'lən), steal·ing, steals. v.tr.
- To take (the property of another) without right or permission.
- To present or use (someone else's words or ideas) as one's own.
- To get or take secretly or artfully: steal a look at a diary; steal the puck from an opponent.
- To give or enjoy (a kiss) that is unexpected or unnoticed.
- To draw attention unexpectedly in (an entertainment), especially by being the outstanding performer: The magician's assistant stole the show with her comic antics.
- Baseball. To advance safely to (another base) during the delivery of a pitch, without the aid of a base hit, walk, passed ball, or wild pitch.
- To commit theft.
- To move, happen, or elapse stealthily or unobtrusively.
- Baseball. To steal a base.
- The act of stealing.
- Slang. A bargain.
- Baseball. A stolen base.
- Basketball. An act of gaining possession of the ball from an opponent.
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.
[Middle English stelen, from Old English stelan.]
stealer steal'er n.SYNONYMS steal, purloin, filch, snitch, pilfer, cop, hook, swipe, lift, pinch. These verbs mean to take another's property wrongfully, often surreptitiously. Steal is the most general: stole a car; steals research from colleagues. To purloin is to make off with something, often in a breach of trust: purloined the key to his cousin's safe-deposit box. Filch and snitch often suggest that what is stolen is of little value, while pilfer sometimes connotes theft of or in small quantities: filched towels from the hotel; snitch a cookie; pilfered fruit from the farmer. Cop, hook, and swipe frequently connote quick, furtive snatching or seizing: copped a necklace from the counter; planning to hook a fur coat; swiped a magazine from the rack. To lift is to take something surreptitiously and keep it for oneself: a pickpocket who lifts wallets on the subway. Pinch suggests stealing something by or as if by picking it up between the thumb and the fingers: pinched a dollar from his mother's purse.
