pilfer

verb

pil·​fer ˈpil-fər How to pronounce pilfer (audio)
pilfered; pilfering ˈpil-f(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce pilfer (audio)

intransitive verb

: steal
especially : to steal stealthily in small amounts and often again and again

transitive verb

: steal
especially : to steal in small quantities
pilferable adjective
pilferage noun
pilferer noun
pilferproof adjective

Did you know?

The Various Uses of Pilfer

Pilfer is a synonym of steal, but it typically implies a particular kind of stealing. What is pilfered is usually stolen stealthily—furtively, so that no one will notice—in small amounts and often again and again. One might, for example, pilfer cookies from a cookie jar until a plentiful supply has dwindled to nothing. The word is sometimes used for that kind of stealing: the stealthy and gradual stealing of something that isn't worth much anyway:

Money was tight enough that Dickey's family used silverware pilfered from the local Western Sizzlin….
— L. Jon Wertheim, Sports Illustrated 2 Apr. 2012

But it is also used when the stolen things are valuable indeed, and the act of pilfering a serious criminal act:

For generations, scavengers have prowled this city with impunity, pouncing on abandoned properties and light poles to pilfer steel, copper and other metals they could trade for cash at scrapyards. The practice left tens of thousands of buildings so damaged that they could not be restored, turning places like the North End into grim cityscapes that appeared to have been ravaged by a tornado.
— John Eligon, The New York Times, 15 Mar. 2015

Pilfer may remind one of a similar also-serious word: pillage. The two words share more than a first syllable; pilfer comes from an old word meaning "booty" (as in, things that are stolen or taken by force, especially during a war) and pillage means "to take things from a place by force especially during a war." But despite their similarities, the words in modern use are very different. Pilfer has long since shed the connotations of violence in its etymological past; what's pilfered is not taken violently. Pillage, on the other hand, remains firmly rooted in violence and especially war; it is not a term you apply when someone's been sneaking cookies from a cookie jar.

Choose the Right Synonym for pilfer

steal, pilfer, filch, purloin mean to take from another without right or without detection.

steal may apply to any surreptitious taking of something and differs from the other terms by commonly applying to intangibles as well as material things.

steal jewels
stole a look at the gifts

pilfer implies stealing repeatedly in small amounts.

pilfered from his employer

filch adds a suggestion of snatching quickly and surreptitiously.

filched an apple from the tray

purloin stresses removing or carrying off for one's own use or purposes.

printed a purloined document

Examples of pilfer in a Sentence

She pilfered stamps and paper from work. what sort of person would pilfer lunches from the office refrigerator?
Recent Examples on the Web Jho has since been accused of masterminding a money laundering and bribery scheme that pilfered billions from the Malaysian state investment fund known as 1MDB. Michael Kunzelman and Lindsay Whitehurst, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024 An investigator with the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office pilfered hundreds of dollars from the bank account of a deceased man by transferring the funds using Cash App, police say. Omar Rodríguez Ortiz, Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2024 Some of those charges accuse the two of pilfering thousands of dollars from the city from July 2016 to July 2020 through checks written between the two of them. Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 25 Jan. 2024 Facing Hard Knocks Thompson had early success on Nickelodeon, but sadly, earnings from that show were pilfered by an unscrupulous accountant who cleaned out Thompson's holdings and left him with a huge bill for unpaid taxes. John Baldoni, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024 Quiros had allegedly funnelled much of it through a variety of shell companies, and back into his own pocket—pilfering fifty million dollars, for example, to pay his taxes and to buy a condominium in Trump Place, in Manhattan, among other things. Sheelah Kolhatkar, The New Yorker, 29 Jan. 2024 Class, cash, and condos have pilfered and transfigured the filthen place that spawned No Wave. Jonathan Rowe, SPIN, 23 Jan. 2024 The script by Saturday Night Live veteran Tina Fey stole from the John Hughes ’80s comedies and later indie hits Clueless and Heathers, pilfering their exposé of high-school cliques and adolescent style. Armond White, National Review, 17 Jan. 2024 There were other forms of pilfering, too, apparently. Charles Bethea, The New Yorker, 26 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pilfer.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle French pelfrer, from pelfre booty

First Known Use

circa 1548, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of pilfer was circa 1548

Dictionary Entries Near pilfer

Cite this Entry

“Pilfer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pilfer. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

pilfer

verb
pil·​fer ˈpil-fər How to pronounce pilfer (audio)
pilfered; pilfering -f(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce pilfer (audio)
: to steal articles of small value or in small amounts
pilferage noun
pilferer noun

Legal Definition

pilfer

intransitive verb
pil·​fer ˈpil-fər How to pronounce pilfer (audio)
: to steal especially in small amounts and often again and again
accused of pilfering from passenger luggage

transitive verb

: to steal or steal from especially in small quantities
found pilfering goods from a store he was guarding
pilferage noun

More from Merriam-Webster on pilfer

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