# thief

> English word · Noun · IPA /θiːf/ · frequency rank #8,618

## Definitions
1. One who carries out a theft.
2. One who steals another person's property, especially by stealth and without using force or violence.
3. A waster in the snuff of a candle.

## Etymology
From Middle English thef, theef, þef, from Old English þēof, from Proto-West Germanic *þeub, from Proto-Germanic *þeubaz.

## Easily confused with
- **tie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thief-vs-tie)
- **this** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thief-vs-this)
- **thin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thief-vs-thin)
- **tied** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thief-vs-tied)
- **tier** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thief-vs-tier)
- **tiff** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thief-vs-tiff)
- **Tien** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thief-vs-tien)
- **think** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thief-vs-think)
- **three** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thief-vs-three)
- **thing** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thief-vs-thing)
- **third** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thief-vs-third)
- **tried** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thief-vs-tried)
- **tries** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thief-vs-tries)
- **threw** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thief-vs-threw)
- **thigh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thief-vs-thigh)
- **thine** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thief-vs-thine)
- **Thier** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thief-vs-thier)
- **trier** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thief-vs-trier)
- **Thiel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thief-vs-thiel)
- **the** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/the-vs-thief)

## Common misspellings (7)
`htief`, `theif`, `thhief`, `thieff`, `thife`, `tihef`, `tthief`

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