theft Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the act of taking something from someone unlawfully
    thieving; larceny; thievery; stealing.
    • the thieving is awful at Kennedy International

WordNet

Theft noun
Etymology
OE. thefte, AS. Þiéfthe, Þyfthe, Þeófthe. See Thief.
Definitions
  1. (Law) The act of stealing; specifically, the felonious taking and removing of personal property, with an intent to deprive the rightful owner of the same; larceny. ✍ To constitute theft there must be a taking without the owner's consent, and it must be unlawful or felonious; every part of the property stolen must be removed, however slightly, from its former position; and it must be, at least momentarily, in the complete possession of the thief. See Larceny, and the Note under Robbery.
  2. The thing stolen. R.
    If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, . . . he shall restore double. Ex. xxii. 4.

Webster 1913