The difference between Steal and Theft
When used as nouns, steal means the act of stealing, whereas theft means the act of stealing property.
Steal is also verb with the meaning: to take illegally, or without the owner's permission, something owned by someone else.
check bellow for the other definitions of Steal and Theft
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Steal as a verb (transitive):
To take illegally, or without the owner's permission, something owned by someone else.
Examples:
"Three irreplaceable paintings were stolen from the gallery."
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Steal as a verb (transitive, of ideas, words, music, a look, credit, etc.):
To appropriate without giving credit or acknowledgement.
Examples:
"They stole my idea for a biodegradable, disposable garbage de-odorizer."
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Steal as a verb (transitive):
To get or effect surreptitiously or artfully.
Examples:
"He stole glances at the pretty woman across the street."
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Steal as a verb (transitive, colloquial):
To acquire at a low price.
Examples:
"He stole the car for two thousand less than its book value."
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Steal as a verb (transitive):
To draw attention unexpectedly in (an entertainment), especially by being the outstanding performer. Usually used in the phrase steal the show.
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Steal as a verb (intransitive):
To move silently or secretly.
Examples:
"He stole across the room, trying not to wake her."
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Steal as a verb:
To withdraw or convey (oneself) clandestinely.
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Steal as a verb (transitive, baseball):
To advance safely to (another base) during the delivery of a pitch, without the aid of a hit, walk, passed ball, wild pitch, or defensive indifference.
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Steal as a verb (sports, transitive):
To dispossess
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Steal as a verb (humorous, transitive):
To acquire; to get
Examples:
"Hold on, I need to steal a phone from the office. I'll be back real quick."
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Steal as a noun:
The act of stealing.
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Steal as a noun:
A piece of merchandise available at a very attractive price.
Examples:
"At this price, this car is a steal."
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Steal as a noun (basketball, ice hockey):
A situation in which a defensive player actively takes possession of the ball or puck from the opponent's team.
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Steal as a noun (baseball):
A stolen base.
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Steal as a noun (curling):
Scoring in an end without the hammer.
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Steal as a noun (computing):
A policy in database systems that a database follows which allows a transaction to be written on nonvolatile storage before its commit occurs.
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Theft as a noun:
The act of stealing property.