sneak thief

noun

A thief who steals without being noticed and without using violence.

Similar
pilferersnitcher
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Meanings

nounsneak thief (plural sneak thieves)

plural sneak thieves · alternative sneakthief

  1. A thief who steals without being noticed and without using violence.

    […] travelling gangs of Moorish artisans, heavy armed Templars on their way to the Sepulchre, wandering minstrels, sneakthieves, bawds, rowdy strings of knights and foot-soldiers setting out with wine-skins at their saddlebows to cross the passes towards the debatable lands of Extremadura, […]

    1922, John Dos Passos, “Antonio Machado: Poet of Castile”, in Rosinante to the Road Again, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, →OCLC

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna thief who steals without using violence

Similar
pilferersnitcher
Broader
thiefstealer
Also see
pilferersnitcher

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From sneak + thief. Compare Danish snigtyv (literally “sneak thief”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Danish snigtyv
  • snigtyvsneak thief
German Gelegenheitsdieb
  • Gelegenheitsdiebsneak thief
Cite this entry
APA

sneak thief. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sneak%20thief

MLA

“sneak thief.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sneak%20thief. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sneak thief,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sneak%20thief.

Source: sneak thief on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.