How do you use the word "steal" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "steal": Hunger compelled the boy to steal money from the cash register. Hunger drove him to steal.

Steal Meaning

/stiːl/

Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

verbTo take illegally, or without the owner's permission, something owned by someone else without intending to return it.

verbTo appropriate without giving credit or acknowledgement.

Sentence Examples

Hunger compelled the boy to steal money from the cash register.

Hunger drove him to steal.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

buy slip bargain

Antonyms:

None

CEFR Practice Quiz

The thief tried to quietly ____ the expensive watch from the store.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

The fox tried to ____ a chicken from the farm, but the loud farm dog barked and scared it away.

Word Origin & History

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 and 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 (“to 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"

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"At length, one night, when the company by ſome accident broke up much ſooner than ordinary, ſo that the candles were not half burnt out, ſhe was not able to reſiſt the temptation, but reſolved to have them ſome way or other. Accordingly, as ſoon as the hurry was over, and the ſervants, as ſhe thought, all gone to ſleep, ſhe ſtole out of her bed, and went down ſtairs, naked to her ſhift as ſhe was, with a deſign to ſteal them[…]." — 1762, Charles Johnstone, The Reverie; or, A Flight to the Paradise of Fools, volume 2, Dublin: Printed by Dillon Chamberlaine, →OCLC, page 202:

""I was dragged up at the workhouse school till I was twelve. Then I ran away and sold papers in the streets, and anything else that I could pick up a few coppers by—except steal. I never did that. I always made up my mind I'd be a big man some day, and—I'm glad I didn't steal."" — 1909 September 9, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], chapter II, in The Squire’s Daughter, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC:

"Laura snatches coins from inside a truck to make a telephone call, scrounges shoes and clothes for them at a municipal beach, schemes to get a room key so she and Howie can sleep overnight in the Starlight Motel, steals a Jeepster from a deputy sheriff who's trying to arrest them." — 1987 November 8, Ron Hansen, “CHILDREN'S BOOKS; DISCOVERING THE OPPOSITE SEX”, in The New York Times:

"But lawksamercy! While she is here, her youngest is, by pure chance, stolen away by a heroin addict who sells children for adoption by lustful Arabs." — 1996, Francis Wheen, Lord Gnome's Literary Companion, page 74:

"Admitting to stealing the vegetables, Mohammed said, “Boss ah tief the thing, but not me alone.” The bhaigans were valued $100." — 2015 February 7, Azard Ali, “Mother put on a bond for stealing bhaigans”, in Trinidad and Tobago Newsday:

Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words