THIEF
What does "THIEF" mean?
A person who steals another's property, especially in secret and without violence.
Meanings
- One who takes property belonging to another, typically by stealth. The thief slipped out before the alarm sounded.
- Something that quietly takes or drains, used figuratively. Worry is a thief of sleep. figurative
Word origin
From Old English 'þēof', from Proto-Germanic '*þeubaz', cognate with German 'Dieb' and Dutch 'dief'; its plural 'thieves' preserves an old voicing of the final consonant.
Remember it
THIEF follows 'i before e': the thief sneaks the 'i' in first, then the 'e'.
A little poem
He left no print, no broken pane,
only the shape of what had lain-
the empty hook, the missing chain.
tercet
Wordplay
- I caught a thief stealing my dictionary. He had a way with words.
What it teaches
A thief takes only what you set down; the surest guard is to value a thing enough to hold it.
Quick facts
What does THIEF mean?
A person who steals another's property, especially in secret and without violence.
Is THIEF a valid word?
Yes — THIEF is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is THIEF?
THIEF has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does THIEF come from?
From Old English 'þēof', from Proto-Germanic '*þeubaz', cognate with German 'Dieb' and Dutch 'dief'; its plural 'thieves' preserves an old voicing of the final consonant.
What can THIEF teach us?
A thief takes only what you set down; the surest guard is to value a thing enough to hold it.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.