shoplifting
noun, verb
shoplifting is spelled S-H-O-P-L-I-F-T-I-N-G: 11 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,649th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, shoplifting means “The action of stealing goods from a shop, store or other place of business” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of shoplifting is shopliftings.
How many letters and syllables are in shoplifting?
| Letters | 11: S-H-O-P-L-I-F-T-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 29,649th 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 shoplifting?
Shoplifting appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,649th 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 shoplifting?
Shoplifting 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)-Vealhurl-shoplifting.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of shoplifting
- shopliftings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shoplifting mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The action of stealing goods from a shop, store or other place of business.
- 2
A theft from a shop during trading hours.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of shoplift
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shoplifting in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense action of the verb to shoplift:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | vol à l'étalage |
| German | Ladendiebstahl |
| Portuguese | furto em lojas |
| Spanish | hurto, ratería, furto (disused) |
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 shoplifting come from?
By surface analysis, shoplift + -ing. The noun sense (from 1690) predates the verb.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).