thief

noun

ˈthēf How to pronounce thief (audio)
Definition of thiefnext
as in robber
one who steals a thief has been stealing wallets and valuables from the lockers at the gym

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of thief The thieves then snatched the paintings and fled through the museum’s gardens—the whole heist took place in under three minutes. — News Desk, Artforum, 17 Aug. 2026 In August 2024, thieves raided a Union Pacific train stopped on Chicago’s West Side, taking TVs and other electronics and loading them into waiting vehicles even after overmatched police arrived. — Kiel Porter, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2026 In this particular instance, the thieves had swapped out two RTX 5080 GPUs for a pair of RTX 3060 cards. — Jon Martindale, PC Magazine, 17 Aug. 2026 While the Sicilian city of Messina celebrated its most important religious summer holiday, thieves carried out a heist at the regional museum, making off with several works by Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina. — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 17 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for thief
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thief
  1. robber
  2. burglar
Noun
  • Then the robber struck, taking the victim’s wallet and gun, worth about $2,000, authorities said.
    — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Matovu Kiweewa says this can be best understood by comparing HIV to a robber trying to enter a house.
    — Michal Ruprecht, NPR, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of robber
Noun
  • Despite the help from aircraft, law enforcement could not locate the suspects after searching all of the rail cars investigators believed the burglars entered.
    — Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • But Hohimer himself implicated another burglar, Frederick Malchow, in the slaying.
    — Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of burglar

Browse Nearby Words

thick-witted
thief
thieve
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Thief.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thief. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on thief

Nglish: Translation of thief for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of divulge

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Is “GIF” Pronounced “Jiff” or “Giff”?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All