DictionaryAI

thief

noun
SayTHEEF/θif/UK/θiːf/

Pluralthieves

3 meanings of thief

Practice

  1. 1
    nouncountable
    A person who secretly takes things that belong to someone else, without using force.

    Like someone who quietly takes your things when you are not looking.

    The thief slipped into the house and took her jewelry while she slept.

    Police caught the thief who had been stealing bikes from the station.

    Similarburglar, pilferer, crook

    Note
  2. 2
    nouncountable
    A person who steals something that belongs to someone else.

    The thief grabbed a wallet from the counter and ran.

    A thief broke into the shop overnight and emptied the register.

    Similarrobber, crook

    Note
  3. 3
    nounobsolete
    A fault in a candle's wick that makes it burn badly and waste the wax.

    A thief in the candle made it drip and waste good wax all evening.

    She trimmed the wick to get rid of the thief that kept melting the candle.

    Note

Use it in a sentence

Write your own sentence with thief, and AI will tell you whether it fits and which meaning you used.

Origin

From Old English þēof, going back through Proto-Germanic *þeubaz.