v. t. [ imp. Stole p. p. Stolen p. pr. & vb. n. Stealing. ] [ OE. stelen, AS. stelan; akin to OFries. stela, D. stelen, OHG. stelan, G. stehlen, Icel. stela, SW. stjäla, Dan. stiaele, Goth. stilan. ] 1. To take, and carry away, feloniously; to take without right or leave, and with intent to keep wrongfully; as, to steal the personal goods of another. [ 1913 Webster ]

Maugre thy heed, thou must for indigence
Or steal, or beg, or borrow, thy dispense. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

The man who stole a goose and gave away the giblets in alms. G. Eliot. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To withdraw or convey clandestinely (reflexive); hence, to creep furtively, or to insinuate. [ 1913 Webster ]

They could insinuate and steal themselves under the same by their humble carriage and submission. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

He will steal himself into a man's favor. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To gain by insinuating arts or covert means. [ 1913 Webster ]

So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. 2 Sam. xv. 6. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To get into one's power gradually and by imperceptible degrees; to take possession of by a gradual and imperceptible appropriation; -- with away. [ 1913 Webster ]

Variety of objects has a tendency to steal away the mind from its steady pursuit of any subject. I. Watts. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To accomplish in a concealed or unobserved manner; to try to carry out secretly; as, to steal a look. [ 1913 Webster ]

Always, when thou changest thine opinion or course, profess it plainly, . . . and do not think to steal it. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

To steal a march, to march in a covert way; to gain an advantage unobserved; -- formerly followed by of, but now by on or upon, and sometimes by over; as, to steal a march upon one's political rivals. [ 1913 Webster ]

She yesterday wanted to steal a march of poor Liddy. Smollett. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fifty thousand men can not easily steal a march over the sea. Walpole. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To filch; pilfer; purloin; thieve. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To practice, or be guilty of, theft; to commit larceny or theft. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thou shalt not steal. Ex. xx. 15. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To withdraw, or pass privily; to slip in, along, or away, unperceived; to go or come furtively. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fixed of mind to avoid further entreaty, and to fly all company, one night she stole away. Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

From whom you now must steal, and take no leave. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

A soft and solemn breathing sound
Rose like a steam of rich, distilled perfumes,
And stole upon the air. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Stale a handle. ] A handle; a stale, or stele. [ Archaic or Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

And in his hand a huge poleax did bear.
Whose steale was iron-studded but not long. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who steals; a thief. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Shipbuilding) The endmost plank of a strake which stops short of the stem or stern. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act of taking feloniously the personal property of another without his consent and knowledge; theft; larceny. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which is stolen; stolen property; -- chiefly used in the plural. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. By stealing, or as by stealing, furtively, or by an invisible motion. Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. stalþe. See Steal, v. t. ] 1. The act of stealing; theft. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The owner proveth the stealth to have been committed upon him by such an outlaw. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The thing stolen; stolen property. [ Obs. ] “Sluttish dens . . . serving to cover stealths.” Sir W. Raleigh. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The bringing to pass anything in a secret or concealed manner; a secret procedure; a clandestine practice or action; -- in either a good or a bad sense. [ 1913 Webster ]

Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

The monarch, blinded with desire of wealth,
With steel invades the brother's life by stealth. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

I told him of your stealth unto this wood. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Given to stealth; stealthy. [ Obs. ] -- Stealth"ful*ly, adv. [Obs.] -- Stealth"ful*ness, n. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a stealthy manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state, quality, or character of being stealthy; stealth. [ 1913 Webster ]