Word Confusion: Burglary vs Robbery vs Steal vs Theft

Posted December 1, 2020 by kddidit in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
28 Oct 2022

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This word confusion — burglary vs robbery vs steal vs theft was my own fascination. Well, in truth, it started with burglary vs robbery. The others cropped up as I researched . . . I mean, really, what was the difference?

Steal and theft turn out to be general terms that can be applied to burglary or robbery, although theft is only a noun while steal is a noun and, more commonly, a verb, to steal.

Naturally, steal and theft are used interchangeably. And, stolen items are usually part of a theft.

It becomes more specific with burglary, simply an unauthorized entering of your property to steal, which includes not only entering your house but hacking into your computer.

Robbery is stealing directly from a person while physically threatening them with violence or force.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Burglary	Robbery	Steal	Theft
Surveillance of a Burglar in Action by Geralt is under the Pixabay License, via Pixabay. — A burglar? Must be a burglary in progress.	Bank Robbery in Progress by Henry Burrows is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via Flickr.	A Dog Trying to Steal Cookies is in the public domain courtesy of freestocks.org.	Credit Card Theft by Dan Hankins is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
Part of Grammar:
Noun Plural: burglaries A.k.a. breaking and entering, housebreaking	Noun Plural: robberies	Noun, singular; Verb, intransitive & transitive Plurals for the noun: steal steals [baseball only] Gerund: stealing Third person present verb: steals Past tense: stole Past participle: stolen Present participle: stealing	Noun Plural: thefts
[Criminal law] The felony of breaking into and entering the house of another with intent to steal, extended by statute to cover the breaking into and entering of any of various buildings, by night or day	[Criminal law] The felonious action of taking property unlawfully from a person or place by force or threat of force, violence, or intimidation [Informal] Unashamed swindling or overcharging The act or an instance of robbing	Noun: [Informal] A bargain [Mainly North American] An act of stealing something An idea taken from another work [Baseball] An act of stealing a base [Basketball; Hockey] An act of taking possession of the ball or puck from an opponent [Informal] The thing stolen Booty Verb, intransitive: Take (another person’s property) without permission or legal right and without intending to return it [With adverbial of direction] Move, go, or come somewhere quietly, surreptitiously, secretly, or unobserved To pass, happen, etc., imperceptibly, gently, or gradually [Baseball; of a base runner] To advance a base without the help of a walk or batted ball Verb, transitive: Take (another person’s property) without permission or legal right and without intending to return it Dishonestly pass off (another person’s ideas) as one’s own Take the opportunity to give or share (a kiss) when it is not expected or when people are not watching [In various sports] Gain (an advantage, a run, or possession of the ball) unexpectedly or by exploiting the temporary distraction of an opponent [Baseball; of a base runner] Advance safely to (the next base) by running to it as the pitcher begins the delivery [With adverbial of direction] Direct (a look) quickly and unobtrusively To take, get, or win insidiously, surreptitiously, subtly, or by chance [Usually followed by away, from, in, into, etc.] To move, bring, convey, or put secretly or quietly Smuggle To gain or seize more than one’s share of attention in, as by giving a superior performance	The action or crime of intentionally taking and carrying away, using, transferring, concealing, or retaining possession of movable property of another without the other’s consent and with intent to deprive the owner permanently of possession of such property (Powell) The wrongful taking and carrying away of the personal goods or property of another Larceny An instance of this act [Archaic] Something stolen
Examples:
He’ll get a two-year sentence for burglary. We’ve experienced a series of burglaries. He’d been arrested for burglary seven times.	He was involved in drugs, extortion, and robbery. It was an armed robbery. “Twenty-five bucks! That’s highway robbery!”	Noun: For $5 it was a steal. It was New York’s biggest art steal. The chorus is a steal from The Smiths’ “London”. I tell ya, that third base was a steal! Point guard Kaleb Joseph finished with eight points, four steals, and seven assists. Verb, intransitive: She was found guilty of stealing from her employers. He stole down to the kitchen A delicious languor was stealing over her. She stole out of the house at midnight. The years steal by. Verb, transitive: He stole first base. Thieves stole her bicycle. Accusations that one group had stolen ideas from the other were soon flying. He was allowed to steal a kiss in the darkness. “The sign-stealing, they wrote, had started ‘early in the 2017 season’, instigated by ‘a hitter who was struggling at the plate and had benefited from sign stealing with a previous team’ and ‘a coach who wanted to help'” (Lindbergh). Rickey stole third base. He stole a furtive glance at her. He stole my girlfriend. They stole the bicycle into the bedroom to surprise the child. The comedian stole the show.	He was convicted of theft. The latest theft happened at a garage. Police are calling for motorists to be extra vigilant following a spate of car thefts and break-ins.
Derivatives:
Adjective: antiburglary Noun: burglar Verb, transitive: burglarise [British], burglarize	Adjective: antirobbery Noun: robber Verb: rob	Adjective: stealable, stolen Noun: stealer, stealing	Adjective: antitheft, thievish Noun: thief
History of the Word:
Early 16th century, from the legal French burglarie, from burgler or the Anglo-Latin burgulator, burglator, which is related to the Old French burgier meaning pillage.	Middle English from the Anglo-Norman French and the Old French roberie, from the verb rober, which is of Germanic origin and related to the verb reave, which is from Old English rēafian and of Germanic origin is related to the Dutch roven and the German rauben.	Old English stelan (verb) is of Germanic origin and related to the Dutch stelen and the German stehlen.	Old English thīefth, thēofth is of Germanic origin and related to thief.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Burglary vs Robbery vs Steal vs Theft

Apple Dictionary.com

Dictionary.com: burglary, robbery, steal, theft

Ganja, Joe. “Hackers vs Burglars.” Global Information Assurance Certification Paper. SANS Institute. 25 Oct 2002. Web. 12 Oct 2020. <https://www.giac.org/paper/gsec/2297/hackers-burglars/103956>.

Gillespie, Jessica. “The Differences Between Robbery and Burglary.” NOLO. n.d. Web. 12 Oct 2020. <https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/the-differences-between-robbery-and-burglary.html>.

Lexico.com: theft

Lindbergh, Ben. “There’s No Virtue in Signaling. But is There Any Benefit?” Ringer.com. 22 Nov 2019. Web. 13 Oct 2020. <https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2019/11/22/20977542/astros-sign-stealing-benefit-wins-advantage>.

Powell, Hart. “Theft, Burglary, and Robbery: Key Differences.” Hart Powell. n.d. Web. 12 Oct 2020. <https://www.kohlerandhart.com/articles/theft-burglary-and-robbery-key-differences/>.

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