petty larceny
noun Law.
larceny in which the value of the goods taken is below a certain legally specified amount.
Also
petit larceny.
Compare
grand larceny.
Origin of petty larceny
First recorded in 1810–20
Words nearby petty larceny
petty,
petty bourgeois,
petty bourgeoisie,
petty cash,
petty jury,
petty larceny,
petty officer,
petty sessions,
petty-fitzmaurice,
petulance,
petulancy
Example sentences from the Web for petty larceny
It's too cramped, too girded about with petty-larceny conventions.
North of Fifty-Three |Bertrand W. SinclairIt simply means a thief on a grand scale, something more than "a snapper-up of unconsidered trifles," or petty-larceny rascal.
Rookwood |William Harrison AinsworthHe had all the contempt for a petty-larceny thief that the skilled safe-breaker has for the common purse-snatcher.
'Me-Smith' |Caroline Lockhart