THIEF (thieves)

Pronunciation (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does thief mean? 

• THIEF (noun)
  The noun THIEF has 1 sense:

1. a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it

  Familiarity information: THIEF used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• THIEF (noun)

Meaning:

A criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

stealer; thief

Hypernyms ("thief" is a kind of...):

criminal; crook; felon; malefactor; outlaw (someone who has committed (or been legally convicted of) a crime)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "thief"):

bandit; brigand (an armed thief who is (usually) a member of a band)

snatcher (a thief who grabs and runs)

cracksman; safebreaker; safecracker (a thief who breaks open safes to steal valuable contents)

cattle thief; rustler (someone who steals livestock (especially cattle))

robber (a thief who steals from someone by threatening violence)

despoiler; freebooter; looter; pillager; plunderer; raider; spoiler (someone who takes spoils or plunder (as in war))

literary pirate; pirate; plagiariser; plagiarist; plagiarizer (someone who uses another person's words or ideas as if they were his own)

cutpurse; dip; pickpocket (a thief who steals from the pockets or purses of others in public places)

larcener; larcenist (a person who commits larceny)

holdup man; stickup man (an armed thief)

graverobber (someone who steals valuables from graves or crypts)

body snatcher; ghoul; graverobber (someone who takes bodies from graves and sells them for anatomical dissection)

defalcator; embezzler; peculator (someone who violates a trust by taking (money) for their own use)

dacoit; dakoit (a member of an armed gang of robbers)

burglar (a thief who enters a building with intent to steal)

booster; lifter; shoplifter (a thief who steals goods that are in a store)

pilferer; sneak thief; snitcher (a thief who steals without using violence)