theft

Meanings

1. 1noununcountablelegal

   The crime of taking something that belongs to someone else without permission and without planning to give it back.

   Grammar: Used without an or a when speaking of the crime in general: Theft is rising in the area.

   Patterns

   • theft of something
   • charged with theft

   He was arrested on suspicion of theft.

   Theft from shops costs retailers billions every year.

   Identity theft can take years to sort out.

2. 2nouncountable

   One particular occasion on which something is stolen.

   Grammar: Countable when it names a single incident: a theft, two thefts.

   Patterns

   • a theft from something
   • report a theft

   Police are investigating a theft at the museum.

   There were three thefts on our street last month.

   She reported the theft of her bicycle on Tuesday.

Word forms

Common combinations

commit theft

He admitted he had committed theft.

petty theft

The boy was caught for petty theft at the market.

identity theft

Shredding bills helps protect you from identity theft.

report a theft

Please report a theft to the police at once.

theft of property

The charge was theft of property worth over a thousand dollars.

Synonyms and how they differ

stealing

Stealing is the plain everyday word for the act, whereas theft is also the formal name of the crime.

robbery

Robbery involves force or threat against a person, while theft needs no violence at all.

burglary

Burglary means breaking into a building to steal, so it is one narrower kind of theft.

Word family

thief noun

a person who steals

thieve verb

to steal, often as a habit

steal verb

to take without permission

theft-proof adjective

built so as to resist stealing

Commonly confused: theft or thief?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “theft”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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