Definition of "purloin"

purloin

/pɜːˈlɔɪn/

verb
third-person singular simple present purloins, present participle purloining, simple past and past participle purloined
1. (transitive, usuaully, formal or humorous) To take the property of another, often in breach of trust; to appropriate wrongfully; to steal.
  Quotations
  Had from his wakeful custody purloined / The guarded gold.
  1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […]; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873,
  Probably my acquaintance, Mr Blank, therefore, would have been able, if he had so wished to do, to purloin the papers which he mentioned.
  1900, One Who Was in It, chapter 8, in Kruger's Secret Service, pages 168–169
  The refreshment room was full of chatter and babble, which attracted everybody's envious glances. Some one had left his set in the middle of the dance, purloined a sandwich from the buffet, and was now chewing away proudly as he swerved and stamped, to the amusement of the rest.
  1916, chapter 4, in A. Cecil Curtis, transl., Royal Highness, translation of Königliche Hoheit by Thomas Mann
  Or was this simply another item Mr. Stink had purloined during his career as a gentleman thief?
  2009, David Walliams, Mr Stink
2. (intransitive) To commit theft; to thieve.
  Quotations
  The Apostle expressly forbiddeth servants to purloin (Titus 2:10).
  1622, William Gouge, Of Domestical Duties, published 2006, page 454

Definition of "purloin"

purloin

verb

Quotations

Quotations