theft

/θɛft/

//θɛft// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"theft" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“theft” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,845. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,845
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of stealing property.

Corpus desk

Index EN-theft · theft · English

theft · rank #5,845 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,845
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH surgeon

Nearest frequency peer: surgeon (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “theft”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “theft” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

theft vs THT
0% similar
theft vs they
60% similar
theft vs them
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for theft
PropertyValue
Headwordtheft
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/θɛft/
Letters5
Frequency rank#5,845
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “theft”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).theftlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “surgeon” (#5,844), “um” (#5,846), “Stuart” (#5,843). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “theft” is #5,845. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around theft (IPA /θɛft/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,845 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The act of stealing property.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for theft, with forms such as "hteft", "tehft", and "thefft". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "THT", "they", "them", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English theft, thefte, þefte, þefþe, þiefþe, Old English þīefþ, from Proto-West Germanic *þiubiþu, from Proto-Germanic *þiubiþō, from *þeubaz (“thief”), equivalent to thief or thieve + -t (abstract nominal suffix). Cognate with Old Frisian thiuv… The correct English form is theft, spelled T-H-E-F-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of stealing property.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how theft appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. resource theft
  2. Bike theft is on the rise.

Etymology

From Middle English theft, thefte, þefte, þefþe, þiefþe, Old English þīefþ, from Proto-West Germanic *þiubiþu, from Proto-Germanic *þiubiþō, from *þeubaz (“thief”), equivalent to thief or thieve + -t (abstract nominal suffix). Cognate with Old Frisian thiuvethe, thiufthe (“theft”), dialectal Dutch diefte (“theft”), obsolete German Diebde (“theft”), Icelandic þýfð (“theft”).

Synonyms

bargainburglarylarcenyheistgive-awaypinchingrobberystealstealingtheftthieveryfive-finger discountmidnight requisitionmoonlight requisitionmanifest destiny

This word in other languages

robo(Español)vol(Français)Diebstahl(Deutsch)roubo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hteft
  • tehft
  • thefft
  • theftt
  • thetf
  • thfet
  • thheft
  • ttheft

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

hteft2tehft2thefft1theftt1thetf2thfet2thheft1ttheft1
Edit distance from "theft"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "theft"?
"theft" is spelled T-H-E-F-T. The IPA pronunciation is /θɛft/.
What does "theft" mean?
As a noun, "theft" means: The act of stealing property.
What words are commonly confused with "theft"?
"theft" is commonly confused with "THT", "they", "them". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "theft"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "theft" is /θɛft/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "theft"?
From Middle English theft, thefte, þefte, þefþe, þiefþe, Old English þīefþ, from Proto-West Germanic *þiubiþu, from Proto-Germanic *þiubiþō, from *þeubaz (“thief”), equivalent to thief or thieve + -t (abstract nominal suffix). Cognate with Old Fri... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "theft", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

valve#5,848seeks#5,836Putin#5,831charm#5,863

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Easter8 variantseleven8 variantsiconic8 variantslinear8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list