Steal

Steal
Steal Steal (st[=e]l), v. t. [imp. {Stole} (st[=o]l); p. p. {Stolen} (st[=o]"l'n); p. pr. & vb. n. {Stealing}.] [OE. stelen, AS. stelan; akin to OFries. stela, D. stelen, OHG. stelan, G. stehlen, Icel. stela, SW. stj["a]la, Dan. sti[ae]le, Goth. stilan.] 1. To take, and carry away, feloniously; to take without right or leave, and with intent to keep wrongfully; as, to steal the personal goods of another. [1913 Webster]

Maugre thy heed, thou must for indigence Or steal, or beg, or borrow, thy dispense. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

The man who stole a goose and gave away the giblets in alms. --G. Eliot. [1913 Webster]

2. To withdraw or convey clandestinely (reflexive); hence, to creep furtively, or to insinuate. [1913 Webster]

They could insinuate and steal themselves under the same by their humble carriage and submission. --Spenser. [1913 Webster]

He will steal himself into a man's favor. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

3. To gain by insinuating arts or covert means. [1913 Webster]

So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. --2 Sam. xv. 6. [1913 Webster]

4. To get into one's power gradually and by imperceptible degrees; to take possession of by a gradual and imperceptible appropriation; -- with away. [1913 Webster]

Variety of objects has a tendency to steal away the mind from its steady pursuit of any subject. --I. Watts. [1913 Webster]

5. To accomplish in a concealed or unobserved manner; to try to carry out secretly; as, to steal a look. [1913 Webster]

Always, when thou changest thine opinion or course, profess it plainly, . . . and do not think to steal it. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]

{To steal a march}, to march in a covert way; to gain an advantage unobserved; -- formerly followed by of, but now by on or upon, and sometimes by over; as, to steal a march upon one's political rivals. [1913 Webster]

She yesterday wanted to steal a march of poor Liddy. --Smollett. [1913 Webster]

Fifty thousand men can not easily steal a march over the sea. --Walpole. [1913 Webster]

Syn: To filch; pilfer; purloin; thieve. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат
Synonyms:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , / , , , , , , / / ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • steal´er — steal «steel», verb, stole, sto|len, steal|ing, noun. –v.t. 1. to take (something) that does not belong to one; take dishonestly: »Robbers stole the money. Who steals my purse, st …   Useful english dictionary

  • steal — steal, *pilfer, filch, purloin, lift, pinch, snitch, swipe, cop are comparable when they mean to take another s possession without right and without his knowledge or permission. Steal, the commonest and most general of the group, can refer to any …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • steal — ► VERB (past stole; past part. stolen) 1) take (something) without permission or legal right and without intending to return it. 2) give or take surreptitiously or without permission: I stole a look at my watch. 3) move somewhere quietly or… …   English terms dictionary

  • steal — [stēl] vt. stole, stolen, stealing [ME stelen < OE stælan, akin to Ger stehlen, prob. altered < IE base * ster , to rob > Gr sterein, to rob] 1. to take or appropriate (another s property, ideas, etc.) without permission, dishonestly, or …   English World dictionary

  • steal — vt stole, sto·len, steal·ing [Old English stelan]: to take or appropriate without right or consent and with intent to keep or make use of see also robbery, theft Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • steal — steal; steal·able; steal·age; steal·er; steal·ing·ly; …   English syllables

  • Steal — (st[=e]l), v. i. 1. To practice, or be guilty of, theft; to commit larceny or theft. [1913 Webster] Thou shalt not steal. Ex. xx. 15. [1913 Webster] 2. To withdraw, or pass privily; to slip in, along, or away, unperceived; to go or come furtively …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Steal — may refer to: * Theft * The gaining of a stolen base in baseball * Steal (basketball), a situation when the defensive player actively takes possession of the ball from the opponent s team * In professional sports, a steal is a draft pick who… …   Wikipedia

  • steal — O.E. stelan to commit a theft (class IV strong verb; past tense stæl, pp. stolen), from P.Gmc. *stelanan (Cf. O.S. stelan, O.N., O.Fris. stela, Du. stelen, O.H.G. stelan, Ger. stehlen, Goth. stilan), of unknown origin. Most IE words for steal… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Steal — (st[=e]l), n. [See {Stale} a handle.] A handle; a stale, or stele. [Archaic or Prov. Eng.] [1913 Webster] And in his hand a huge poleax did bear. Whose steale was iron studded but not long. Spenser. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”