unsteal

U1N1S1T1E1A1L1

verb

To reverse the process of stealing; to return, or never to have taken, something stolen.

Scrabble 7
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Meanings

verbunsteal (third-person singular simple present unsteals, present participle unstealing, simple past unstole, past participle unstolen)

present singular third person unsteals · participle present unstealing · past unstole · participle past unstolen

  1. transitiveTo reverse the process of stealing; to return, or never to have taken, something stolen.

    You can't unshatter a bowl any more than you can unsteal a goat.

    2011, Wendy Mass, 13 Gifts, page 55
    1 more example

    If I talk you up to the prince, will that be enough? Will you unsteal the pumpkin? Return it to the library?

    2014, Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams, Grimmtastic Girls #1: Cinderella Stays Late

Origin

From un- + steal.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

unstaleunslate
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

“unsteal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unsteal. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unsteal,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unsteal.

Source: unsteal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.