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Definitions

pilfer

[pil-fer] / ˈpɪl fər /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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Now she should pilfer another, helping middle-class families in California and other high-tax states.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 22, 2024

Still, they ignited conspiracy theories that caused people to pilfer the county-issued pens — and prompted officials to switch out the brand for the general election.

From Washington Post Nov. 7, 2022

There's never a need to pilfer through your cabinets, to be knocked over in a cascade of plastic storage containers à la those decades old infomercials, or to haphazardly use a cumbersome espresso maker.

From Salon Oct. 16, 2022

Meta said it would be sharing tips with potential victims on how they can avoid being “re-compromised” by learning how to better spot problematic apps that pilfer credentials, whether for Facebook or other accounts.

From Seattle Times Oct. 7, 2022

I head toward the kitchen to see what I can pilfer before dinner.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

Website publishers, particularly media outlets, say that AI pilfers their content without compensation to feed its models.

From Barron's Jan. 28, 2026

By night, she pilfers baking chocolate from her hosts’ kitchens and gobbles cake crumbs at parties.

From New York Times May 15, 2023

Locals in the town of Munnar, near Padayappa's habitat, call him a "gentle giant" who has never hurt anyone, even though he occasionally pilfers food from their homes and farms at night.

From BBC Feb. 3, 2023

Everybody pilfers their elders' closets at some point; why shouldn't Netflix raid Fox's?

From Salon Jan. 19, 2023

She plunders sighs from humankind, She pilfers tears I would not weep, She robs me of my peace of mind, And she purloins my sleep.

From Poems by Arthur Macy

Historically, authorities have clawed back pilfered funds about 75% of the time when scams were reported within 72 hours, said the FBI’s Lynch.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 21, 2026

Add in recent cemetery thefts in Nebraska, North Dakota, New Mexico, Washington: Across the nation, American graveyards are being pilfered.

From The Wall Street Journal Jan. 14, 2026

It was Becerra’s dormant state political account that allegedly got pilfered of $225,000 while he was health secretary.

From Los Angeles Times Nov. 17, 2025

It is believed Gordon Stewart Wimbush pilfered the plate while he was studying at Gonville & Caius College, which he joined in 1908.

From BBC Nov. 11, 2025

Some people had small surprises—a potato they had saved or something they had pilfered.

From "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys

What’s more, China has a history of pilfering technology to get ahead: In 2025, one in five European companies in China said that Chinese firms had stolen technology.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 5, 2026

Yes, using the DOJ’s website, users are pilfering software and documents from the Epstein files.

From Slate Feb. 3, 2026

He probably feels more awful about his after-hours pilfering than you do.

From MarketWatch Dec. 24, 2025

Slowly, painfully, he realizes they are miserable not because of one another but because they are poor, a hardship he has been quietly worsening by pilfering their stores.

From Salon Nov. 16, 2025

But Aragon is a little lock-crazy: He has screwed a tiny hasp onto his plastic lunch box and hangs a combination lock there, because of the sodas he’s lost to pilfering officers, he says.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover




Vocabulary lists containing pilfer


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