✅ Pocket means to dishonestly take something for yourself, especially secretly (I pocketed the cash).

✅ Pilfer means to steal, especially in small amounts and in a way that is unlikely to have serious consequences (I pilfered a doughnut from the baking sheet).

✅ Pocket and pilfer are both informal ways to refer to stealing. Both words can refer to an instance of stealing which isn’t very serious, or they can be used to make such an instance seem less serious than it really is (pilfer hotel toiletries; pocket a few pieces of candy).

✅ Top means to outdo something or someone (This restaurant topped all our previous favorites).

✅ Vanquish means to defeat or to win a victory over something or someone (He vanquished the dragon).

✅ Top and vanquish have similar meanings. They both mean to come out on top in some kind of contest—even if no-one knows about that contest except you.

✅ Top doesn’t really imply defeating someone else, though it does mean being better than them at something (The song topped the charts), while vanquish implies some sort of clash or competition in which someone was defeated (They vanquished all their enemies).

✅ Skirt means to go around the edge of something, avoid it, or keep your distance from it (I skirted the puddle because I didn’t want to get my shoes wet).

✅ Circumvent means to go around something or bypass it, often in a figurative way (The press release circumvented the real issues).

✅ Skirt and circumvent both mean to go around something, and both can be used when someone doesn’t give a straight answer or when someone doesn’t want to discuss a certain issue (I circumvented his question; I skirted the topic).

✅ Skirt primarily suggests staying away from a certain issue, whereas circumvent suggests finding a way to not have to discuss it.