THIEVING

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does thieving mean? 

• THIEVING (noun)
  The noun THIEVING has 1 sense:

1. the act of taking something from someone unlawfully

  Familiarity information: THIEVING used as a noun is very rare.

• THIEVING (adjective)
  The adjective THIEVING has 1 sense:

1. given to thievery

  Familiarity information: THIEVING used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• THIEVING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of taking something from someone unlawfully

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

larceny; stealing; theft; thievery; thieving

Context example:

the thieving is awful at Kennedy International

Hypernyms ("thieving" is a kind of...):

felony (a serious crime (such as murder or arson))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "thieving"):

breach of trust with fraudulent intent (larceny after trust rather than after unlawful taking)

defalcation; embezzlement; misapplication; misappropriation; peculation (the fraudulent appropriation of funds or property entrusted to your care but actually owned by someone else)

pilferage (the act of stealing small amounts or small articles)

shoplifting; shrinkage (the act of stealing goods that are on display in a store)

robbery (larceny by threat of violence)

biopiracy (biological theft; illegal collection of indigenous plants by corporations who patent them for their own use)

grand larceny; grand theft (larceny of property having a value greater than some amount (the amount varies by locale))

petit larceny; petty; petty larceny (larceny of property having a value less than some amount (the amount varies by locale))

skimming (failure to declare income in order to avoid paying taxes on it)

rustling (the stealing of cattle)

Derivation:

thieve (take by theft)

• THIEVING (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Given to thievery

Synonyms:

thieving; thievish

Similar:

dishonest; dishonorable (deceptive or fraudulent; disposed to cheat or defraud or deceive)

 Context examples 

“I will show you that there are better men left in England than ever went thieving to France.”

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

One thing, in this connection, White Fang quickly learnt, and that was that a thieving god was usually a cowardly god and prone to run away at the sounding of the alarm.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

While this was passing, a duck came quacking up and cried out, You thieving vagabonds, what business have you in my grounds?

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Duty rose above fear, and thieving gods learned to leave Grey Beaver's property alone.

(White Fang, by Jack London)