# theft

> English word · Noun · IPA /θɛft/ · frequency rank #5,845

## Definitions
1. The act of stealing property.

## 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”).

## Easily confused with
- **THT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/theft-vs-tht)
- **they** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/theft-vs-they)
- **them** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/theft-vs-them)
- **then** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/theft-vs-then)
- **Theo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/theft-vs-theo)
- **thot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/theft-vs-thot)
- **tuft** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/theft-vs-tuft)
- **their** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/theft-vs-their)
- **there** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/theft-vs-there)
- **these** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/theft-vs-these)
- **treat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/theft-vs-treat)
- **theme** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/theft-vs-theme)
- **tweet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/theft-vs-tweet)
- **thief** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/theft-vs-thief)
- **Trent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/theft-vs-trent)
- **theta** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/theft-vs-theta)
- **threat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/theft-vs-threat)
- **thrift** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/theft-vs-thrift)
- **the** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/the-vs-theft)
- **tet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tet-vs-theft)

## Common misspellings (8)
`hteft`, `tehft`, `thefft`, `theftt`, `thetf`, `thfet`, `thheft`, `ttheft`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/theft