2
general::
steal
to illegally take something that belongs to someone else:
• The thieves stole over £10,000 worth of computer equipment. • Thousands of cars get stolen every year.
take
to steal something – used when it is clear from the situation that you mean that someone takes something dishonestly:
• The boys broke into her house and took all her money. • They didn’t take much – just a few items of jewellery.
burgle
British English , burglarize American English [ usually passive ] to go into someone’s home and steal things, especially when the owners are not there:
• Their house was burgled while they were away. • If you leave windows open, you are asking to be burgled.
rob
to steal money or other things from a bank, shop, or person:
• The gang were convicted of robbing a bank in Essex. • An elderly woman was robbed at gunpoint in her own home. • He’s serving a sentence for robbing a grocery store.
mug
to attack someone in the street and steal something from them:
• People in this area are frightened of being mugged when they go out. • Someone tried to mug me outside the station.
nick/pinch
British English informal to steal something:
• Someone’s nicked my wallet! • When I came back, my car had been pinched.
embezzle
to steal money from the organization you work for, especially money that you are responsible for:
• Government officials embezzled more than $2.5 million from the department.
shoplifting
stealing things from a shop by taking them when you think no one is looking:
• Shoplifting costs stores millions of pounds every year.
phishing
the activity of dishonestly persuading people to give you their credit card details over the Internet, so that you can steal money from their bank account:
• Phishing is becoming very popular with computer criminals.
Longman-Thesaurus