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light-fingered

[ lahyt-fing-gerd ]

/ ˈlaɪtˈfɪŋ gərd /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR light-fingered ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

skillful at or given to pilfering, especially by picking pockets; thievish.

having light and nimble fingers.

Origin of light-fingered

First recorded in 1540–50

OTHER WORDS FROM light-fingered

light-fin·gered·ness, noun

Words nearby light-fingered

light-adapted eye, light-armed, light-duty, light-emitting diode, light-fast, light-fingered, light-footed, light-handed, light-headed, light-hearted, light-horseman

Example sentences from the Web for light-fingered

Baldassare was stopping with cousins, and a note might fall into light-fingered hands.

A Lady of Rome |F. Marion Crawford
The same is true of a circus, in the wake of which light-fingered gentry are generally to be found.

Notes of an Itinerant Policeman |Josiah Flynt
I saw that he no longer contemplated a duel with his light-fingered adversary.

The Guerilla Chief |Mayne Reid
Several of these light-fingered gentry have been found with small scissors in their mouths.

Castes and Tribes of Southern India |Edgar Thurston

It's not many lucky diggers whose luck attracts the light-fingered gentry and who only lose a four-ounce nugget after all!

Denis Dent |Ernest W. Hornung

British Dictionary definitions for light-fingered

light-fingered

adjective

having nimble or agile fingers, esp for thieving or picking pockets

Derived forms of light-fingered

light-fingeredness, noun