steal

Where “steal” sits in English frequency

Definition

1. 1
   To take illegally, or without the owner's permission, something owned by someone else without intending to return it.
2. 2
   To appropriate without giving credit or acknowledgement.
3. 3
   To get or effect surreptitiously or artfully.
4. 4
   To acquire at a low price.
5. 5
   To draw attention unexpectedly in (an entertainment), especially by being the outstanding performer. Usually used in the phrase steal the show.
6. 6
   To move silently or secretly.
7. 7
   To convey (something) clandestinely.
8. 8
   To withdraw or convey (oneself) clandestinely.
9. 9
   To advance safely to (another base) during the delivery of a pitch, without the aid of a hit, walk, passed ball, wild pitch, or defensive indifference.
10. 10
    To dispossess
11. 11
    To borrow for a short moment.
12. 12
    To take or retell someone else’s joke; to use a clever phrase or expression from someone else in one's own speaking or writing.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *stelaną Proto-West Germanic *stelan Old English stelan Middle English stelen English steal Inherited from Middle English stelen, from Old English stelan, from Proto-West Germanic *stelan, from Proto-Germanic *stelaną. Cognate with Bavarian stöhn (“to steal”), Dutch stelen (“to steal”), German, Low German stehlen (“to steal”), Luxembourgish stielen (“to steal”), Danish stjæle (“to steal”), Faroese stjala (“to steal”), Icelandic stela (“to steal”), Norwegian Bokmål stjele (“to steal”), Norwegian Nynorsk stela, stele (“to steal”), Swedish stjäla (“to steal”), Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌹𐌻𐌰𐌽 (stilan, “to steal”). For the meaning development compare with Russian красть (krastʹ, “to steal”) and Russian кра́сться (krástʹsja, “to stalk, to prowl, to slink”). etymology notes Proposed etymologies beyond Germanic are numerous and include * Proto-Indo-European *ster-: compare Welsh herw (“theft, raid”), Ancient Greek στερέω (steréō, “to deprive of”) * Proto-Indo-European *stel(H)- (“to stretch”): compare Albanian pë/mbështjell (“I confuse, mess up, mix, wrap up”), Old Church Slavonic стєлѭ (steljǫ, “I spread out (bed, roof)”), Ancient Greek τηλία (tēlía, “playing table”) * Proto-Indo-European *tsel- (“to sneak”): compare Sanskrit त्सरति (tsárati, “creep, sneak up on”) and other forms under Pokorny 5. *sel- "schleichen, kriechen"

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: setal,ssteal,stael,steall,stela,stteal,tseal

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of steal - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

Frequently Asked Questions