pilferage
/ˈpɪlf(ə)ɹɪd͡ʒ/noun
pilferage is spelled P-I-L-F-E-R-A-G-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 25 million words in written English, the 150,355th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pilferage means “The individual act or recurring practice of stealing items of low value, especially in small quantities, for which the legal term is petty theft” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pilferage is pilferages.
How many letters and syllables are in pilferage?
| Letters | 9: P-I-L-F-E-R-A-G-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 25 million words; the 150,355th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is pilferage?
Pilferage appears about once in every 25 million words in written English, the 150,355th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce pilferage?
- /ˈpɪlf(ə)ɹɪd͡ʒ/
Pilferage has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Sapaa-pilferage.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pilferage
- pilferages plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pilferage mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The individual act or recurring practice of stealing items of low value, especially in small quantities, for which the legal term is petty theft.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pilferage in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense theft:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | chapardage |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does pilferage come from?
From pilfer + -age.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).