# steal

Pronunciation: US say "STEEL" /stiːl/; UK

## Verb

1. To take property belonging to someone else without permission or legal right, intending not to return it.
   - Simple: To take something that belongs to another person without permission, planning to keep it.
   - _Thieves broke in overnight to steal jewelry and cash._
   - _She stole a wallet from an unattended bag on the train._
2. To obtain or accomplish something in a quiet, clever, or sly manner.
   - Simple: To get something quietly and quickly before anyone notices.
   - _Between meetings, they would steal a few minutes alone._
   - _He stole a glance at the clock during the lecture._
3. To unexpectedly become the center of attention in a performance, especially by outshining everyone else.
   - Simple: To get more attention than anyone else at a show or event.
   - _The supporting actor threatened to steal the show in every scene._
   - _A surprise guest stole the show during the finale._
4. To take someone else's idea, work, words, joke, or style and use or present it as one's own without giving credit.
   - Simple: To use another person's idea, words, or joke as if it were your own.
   - _Rivals often steal ideas from smaller startups without credit._
   - _The producer was accused of stealing a beat from an unknown artist._
7. To advance safely to another base during the delivery of a pitch, without the aid of a hit, walk, or fielding lapse.
   - Simple: To run safely to the next base during a pitch, without a hit or walk to help.
   - _He stole third base on the very next pitch._
   - _Fast runners often steal second base when the catcher hesitates._
9. To move somewhere, or away from a place, quietly and secretly so as not to be noticed.
   - Simple: To move quietly and secretly so nobody notices you, often to leave a place.
   - _We watched the fox steal across the moonlit yard._
   - _The cat stole silently along the fence in the dark._
10. To borrow someone or something briefly, for just a short moment. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To borrow something for just a short moment.
   - _Could I steal you for a moment before the meeting begins?_
   - _Mind if I steal your stapler for a second? Mine is jammed._
11. To acquire something at an unusually low price. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To buy something for a price that is much lower than usual.
   - _You can steal great furniture if you shop the end-of-season sales._
   - _The store was closing, so I stole a nearly new bike for twenty dollars._
13. To carry or move something secretly, without being noticed.
   - Simple: To move something secretly from one place to another without being seen.
   - _Under cover of darkness, the smugglers planned to steal the crates past the guards and onto a waiting boat._
   - _Under cover of fog, the crew stole the refugees away to a waiting ship._
14. To take the ball or puck away from an opposing player who currently has possession during a game.
   - Simple: To take the ball away from a player on the other team during a game.
   - _The point guard moved in quickly to steal the ball from the opposing team._
   - _Defenders who steal the ball cleanly can launch a fast counterattack._

## Noun

5. An item offered at a strikingly low price, or the bargain purchase of it. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Something you can buy for a price that is much lower than usual.
   - _The vintage sofa was a steal at the estate sale._
   - _For a barely used camera, forty dollars is a steal._
6. A play in which a defensive player takes possession of the ball or puck from the opposing team.
   - Simple: A play where a defending player takes the ball or puck away from the other team.
   - _His steal in the closing seconds sealed the win._
   - _The guard recorded four steals in a single half._
8. A successful advance by a baserunner to the next base without the aid of a hit, walk, or error.
   - Simple: A safe move to the next base that a runner makes without a hit to help.
   - _His steal in the seventh inning shifted the momentum._
   - _The catcher's weak arm gave the speedy runner an easy steal of third base._
12. An instance of taking another person's property unlawfully.
   - Simple: An act of taking something that does not belong to you.
   - _The thieves planned the steal for months, then pulled it off in minutes._
   - _News of the daring steal spread quickly across the city._
15. In curling, the scoring of one or more points in an end by the team that did not hold the last-stone advantage.
   - Simple: In curling, scoring points in a round when your team did not throw the last stone.
   - _A steal in the final end secured the championship._
   - _A steal in the final end gave the underdogs the curling title._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A database policy that allows a transaction's changes to be written to nonvolatile storage before the transaction commits.

## Origin

Steal comes from Middle English "stelen," from Old English "stelan," going back through Proto-West Germanic "*stelan" to Proto-Germanic "*stelaną." It is related to Dutch "stelen," German "stehlen," Swedish "stjäla," and Gothic "stilan," all meaning "to steal." Origins beyond Germanic have been proposed but remain uncertain.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/steal (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).