Words / B2

THEFT/θeft/

Theft is the crime of stealing (usually uncountable in reports): theft of data; a rise in theft. Steal is the verb; a thief is the person; robbery often implies force. Quote the theft figure from the table, not a drama. Mix-up: theft vs thefts (countable incidents); loft. Do not write theft for borrowing with permission.

Meaning

The crime of stealing (usually uncountable in reports).

Examples

• “Quote the theft figure from the crime table, not a TV plot.”
• “Theft of coursework still needs a malpractice form, which is the school sense.”

Good to know

theft of; a rise / fall in theft; data / identity theft. Verb: steal. Person: thief. Close: robbery (force). News, citizenship, and exams. Stealing as a crime, not a metaphor for “took my idea” without evidence.

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