purloin

/pərˈlɔɪn/

Other forms: purloined; purloining; purloins

You can use the verb purloin to mean "steal" or "take," especially if it's done in a sneaky way. If you sneak a dollar out of your mom's purse, you purloin it.

Kids might purloin apples from a neighbor's tree, and a crooked cashier might purloin cash from her boss's convenience store. Originally, purloin meant "put at a distance" in Middle English. The word comes from the Anglo-French purloigner, "put away."

Definitions of purloin

1. verb

   make off with belongings of others
   synonyms: abstract, cabbage, filch, hook, lift, nobble, pilfer, pinch, snarf, sneak, swipe

   type of:

   steal

   take without the owner's consent