steal

[ steel ]
/ stil /

verb (used with object), stole, sto·len, steal·ing.

verb (used without object), stole, sto·len, steal·ing.

noun

Idioms for steal

    steal someone's thunder, to appropriate or use another's idea, plan, words, etc.

Origin of steal

before 900; 1860–65 for def 5; Middle English stelen, Old English stelan; cognate with German stehlen, Old Norse stela, Gothic stilan

historical usage of steal

Steal and its kindred words come from the Germanic root stel- “to rob, steal” (as in Gothic stilan, Old English, Old Frisian, Old High German stelan, German stehlen ); the root has no certain relatives outside Germanic.
The idea of secrecy and concealment is a natural association, as in the words derivative of stel-, such as the noun stealth (Middle English stelthe, stelth, from Germanic stēlithō ), and the verb stalk “to follow or observe secretly or cautiously.” One of the current senses of stalk “to follow or harass someone obsessively over a period of time” dates from the early 1980s.

OTHER WORDS FROM steal

steal·a·ble, adjective steal·er, noun non·steal·a·ble, adjective out·steal, verb (used with object), out·stole, out·sto·len, out·steal·ing.

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH steal

burglarize mug rip off rob steal (see synonym study at rob) steal steel stele

Example sentences from the Web for steal

British Dictionary definitions for steal

steal
/ (stiːl) /

verb steals, stealing, stole or stolen

noun informal

the act of stealing
something stolen or acquired easily or at little cost

Word Origin for steal

Old English stelan; related to Old Frisian, Old Norse stela Gothic stilan, German stehlen

Medical definitions for steal

steal
[ stēl ]

n.

The diversion of blood flow from its normal course.