as in to steal
to take (something) without right and with an intent to keep
what sort of person would pilfer lunches from the office refrigerator?
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pilfer
In fact, Soviet tanks soon crushed the wall, and townspeople pilfered the workers’ scant rations.
—
James Wood, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025
That includes the 2021 hack of Poly Network, when hackers pilfered $610 million, and the 2022 hack of Ronin Network, which saw thieves steal $615 million.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 27 Feb. 2025
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, on February 24 returned to Greece an ancient bronze griffin head thought to have been pilfered from a museum in Olympia in the 1930s.
—News Desk, Artforum, 25 Feb. 2025
Parker Posey is especially good as a homemaker, Violet Ratliff, who arrives with a cache of tranquilizers—these are soon being pilfered and swallowed by her husband, Timothy (Jason Isaacs), a businessman about to be exposed for fraud.
—Tom Gliatto, People.com, 15 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pilfer
James Wood, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025
That includes the 2021 hack of Poly Network, when hackers pilfered $610 million, and the 2022 hack of Ronin Network, which saw thieves steal $615 million.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 27 Feb. 2025
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, on February 24 returned to Greece an ancient bronze griffin head thought to have been pilfered from a museum in Olympia in the 1930s.
—News Desk, Artforum, 25 Feb. 2025
Parker Posey is especially good as a homemaker, Violet Ratliff, who arrives with a cache of tranquilizers—these are soon being pilfered and swallowed by her husband, Timothy (Jason Isaacs), a businessman about to be exposed for fraud.
—Tom Gliatto, People.com, 15 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pilfer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pilfer
steal
Verb
-
Mike gets into a brawl when Nathan (Dickinson, uncredited), a fellow addict also living rough, steals his wallet and blows all his cash.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2025
-
The ‘Turkey Brothers’ steal the encore with a boisterous jam As fans begged for an encore to an empty stage, an unlikely guest took center stage.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
17 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pilfer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pilfer. Accessed 22 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share